Al-Mizan calls on the Israeli Prison Authority to stop discrimination against prisoners

Al-Mizan calls on the Israeli Prison Authority to stop discrimination against prisoners

• 2020-03-11 18:09:11
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 The Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights called on the Israeli Prison Authority to work to stop discrimination against Palestinian prisoners, and to take adequate measures and measures to confront the Corona virus and protect Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The Center stated in a statement, that it closely follows the reality of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, in light of the spread of Corona virus, and monitors the nature of preventive measures taken by the Israeli Prison Service in facing the dangers of the disease, as the body that is based on caring for and protecting the lives of detainees, and ensuring their safety , In addition to all other rights guaranteed under international law.

According to the monitoring and follow-up work that the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights continues, the Israel Prison Authority Administration issued a circular on the ninth of this month, a circular that includes a series of measures it has taken to address the risks of the virus spreading to prisons.

After reviewing the contents of it and the follow-up that the legal staff at the center conducted with the detainees in prisons, these measures, although part of it came to combat the spread of the disease, such as providing sterilization tools, conducting medical examinations, training officials and educating the detainees, but the other part involved a distinction between Palestinian detainees and Israeli prisoners, whereby the Israeli Prison Authority Administration allows Israeli prisoners to receive family visits with a glass break, while Palestinian detainees are deprived of this right, according to the decision of the Minister of Internal Security Gilad Ardan issued on 8 March. In 2020.

The circular also did not include procedures for diverging between the Palestinian detainees, in light of the accumulation of their numbers, which reached until the end of February 2020, according to the statistics issued by the institutions of prisoners and human rights, about (5000 prisoners), including (43 female prisoners), while the number of children detainees reached nearly ( 180 children), and administrative detainees (430 detainees).

Al-Mizan Center's follow-up shows that the occupation authorities are holding about (8 prisoners) in one room, while the number of Israeli prisoners does not exceed four per room. It has also been found that the Israel Prison Authority administration adopts the Hebrew language in the prisoners' awareness and guidance publications, which hinders their understanding.

The Center pointed out that he submitted on the date of March of this year, an urgent request to the Director General of the Israeli Prison Authority, to clarify about the preventive measures that were taken in the face of the Corona virus, and the most prominent problems that have been announced measures, by the Prison Authority Administration and that do not provide protection and prevention Sufficient risks of the spread of the disease among the prisoners, where he called for the provision of precautionary measures during the movement of prisoners in the (middle), and to reduce the overcrowding of prisoners, and precautionary measures for the mixing of prisoners and other personnel in the administration of the Prison Authority.

Al-Mezan Center affirmed the legal rights guaranteed under international law, especially the right to health and the right to adequate treatment, and the responsibility of the occupying power to care and protect Palestinian detainees, and to provide all preventive, preventive and remedial measures, as the occupying power in accordance with the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, and the criteria International Human Rights.

The Center called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities towards the residents of the occupied Palestinian territories, to pressure the occupying power to stop the policy of racial discrimination, to take adequate preventive measures and measures to combat the Corona virus and protect prisoners in prisons, review the declared measures, and ensure equal rights and protection measures Among the Palestinian detainees, and adopt all the recommendations issued by the World Health Organization to prevent the risk of the spread of the virus.