Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma', two Palestinian prisoners of conscience arrested for their human rights activism have been released within the last 24 hours.
This is joyous news but we must continue to pressure Israel to release the estimated 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners that remain in Israeli detention. As Desmond Tutu wrote recently:
[Israel] must realize that they cannot break the spirit of those who fight for freedom and justice.
A report by a leading Palestinian human rights organization explains the systematic nature of the torture of Palestinian political prisoners:
Since the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in 1967, the torture and cruel inhuman and degrading treatment of Palestinian prisoners has been widespread and part of the official policy Israeli army and security apparatuses. The degree and forms of torture have varied throughout the years, but the policy of torture has been systematic and legitimized by Israeli judicial system and government.
In the 1990s during the last years of the first Intifada, I worked in the West Bank focusing on the issue of illegal detentions and torture under Israeli detention. The coalition working to expose practice of torture under Israeli detention included tireless Palestinian and Israeli human rights activists from both sides of the Green Line. We dedicated much attention to deaths under detention, sadly a common occurrence. Young, healthy Palestinian men would be picked up in the middle of the night from their homes and a few days later would be dead after horrible torture at the hands of the Israeli shabak or secret service. The main work at my organization was calling around to find out where prisoners were being held so that we could get lawyers in to see them and verify that they were not in grave physical danger. It sometimes took months to find out where a prisoner was being held.
Given this context, the news of the release of Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma' was very welcome. Some background information from the Stop the Wall campaign:
On September 22, Mohammad Othman was arrested by soldiers on the Allenby Bridge Crossing, the border from Jordan to Palestine. He is now being held in Huwara prison as a prisoner of conscience, arrested solely for his human rights work.
Mohammad, 33 years old, has dedicated the last ten years of his life to the defense of Palestinian human rights. He has campaigned with the Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign against the dispossession of Palestinian farmers and against the involvement of Israeli and international business in the violations of Palestinian human rights.
His village, Jayyous, has been devastated by the Apartheid Wall and Zufim – a settlement, built by Lev Leviev's companies. These companies are facing a successful boycott campaign because of their violations of Palestinian rights.
Mohammad was returning from one of his trip to Norway, during which he met with senior officials, including Norwegian Finance Minister Kristen Halvorsen. Norway’s national Pension Fund recently announced that it had divested from Elbit, the Israeli company which provides both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other military technology for Occupation forces, as well as security systems for the Wall and settlements.
Here's a photo of Mohammad Othman who has become a symbol of the non-violent movement among Palestinians to tear down the Apartheid Wall that is destroying more and more of Palestine.
Here's the background on Jamal Juma'.
Israeli security first summoned Juma’ for interrogation at midnight of December 15. Hours later, they brought him back to his home. Juma’ was handcuffed while soldiers searched his house for two hours as his wife and three young children looked on helplessly. The parting words of the soldiers were directed at his wife: she would only see her husband again through a prisoner exchange. Since then, Juma’ has been detained, and banned from speaking to a lawyer or his family, with no explanation for his arrest.
Jamal, 47 years old, was born in Jerusalem and has dedicated his life to the defense of Palestinian human rights. The main focus of his work is on empowering local communities to defend their human rights in the face of violations brought about by the occupation. He is a founding member of a number of Palestinian NGOS and civil society networks. Juma' has been the coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign since 2002. He is widely respected for his work and has been invited to address numerous civil society and UN conferences. His articles and interviews are widely published and his work has been translated into several languages. As a highly visible figure, Juma’ has never attempted to hide or disguise his activities.
Photo of Jamal Juma'
Stop the Wall issued a statement upon the release of Jamal Juma':
Jamal Juma', the coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign has been released yesterday evening after a month long detention in Israeli jails. He had been called for interrogation and then arrested on December 16. Yesterday, the military court decided for Jamal's release.
Like for the other Palestinian human rights defenders in Israeli jails, there was never a case in the courtroom. Not a single charge has been put forth. The reason for his arrest was purely political - an attempt to crush Stop the Wall and the popular committees against the Wall. Therefore, the reasons for his release are also outside the courtroom: The impressive support of international civil society has moved governments and used the media to an extent that made his imprisonment too uncomfortable.
This international solidarity has given our popular struggle against the Wall further strength. We are deeply thankful for all the efforts.
Yet, the latest arrests and continuous repression show that we have not yet defeated the Israeli policy as such, as Israel remains determined to silence Palestinian human rights defenders by all means.
We therefore need to ensure that the campaign for the freedom of all anti-wall activists and Palestinian political prisoners continues to grow. We have to combine our energies to ensure that the root cause - the Wall - will be torn down and the occupation will be brought to an end.
A third activist detained by Israel is Abdallah Abu Rahma. He remains in Israeli detention. Jewish Voice for Peace has a campaign to pressure President Obama to intervene on behalf of Abdallah Abu Rahma that you can access here.
Palestinians mourn their detained and dead like people the world over. Please help stop their suffering by supporting their call for boycott, sanction and divestment from Israel. Together we will end torture, illegal detention and the occupation.
Photo of the funeral of Basem Abu Rahma who was killed by the Israeli army last year while peacefully protesting against the Apartheid Wall.