Prisoners´ Institutions: 8,000 detainees during the year 2021

Prisoners´ Institutions: 8,000 detainees during the year 2021

• 2022-01-02 02:52:41
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The Israeli occupation forces arrested about 8,000 male and female citizens during the year 2021, including more than (1300) minors, and (184) women, while the number of administrative detention orders issued reached (1595) order.

The prisoners and human rights institutions, namely: the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Commission, the Prisoner’s Club, the Addameer Foundation for Prisoner Care and Human Rights, and the Wadi Hilweh Information Center - Jerusalem” said in their joint annual report for the past year, that the number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in the prisons of the occupation reached until the end of January Last December, about (4600) prisoners, including (34) female prisoners, including a minor girl.

The institutions added that the number of sick prisoners reached about (600) prisoners, including (4) prisoners with cancer, and (14) prisoners at least with tumors of varying degrees, among them the prisoner Fouad Al-Shobaki (81 years), who is the oldest prisoner.

Among the most prominent names of the sick prisoners who are in the Ramle Clinic prison: (Khaled Al-Shawish, Mansour Muqada, Mutassim Raddad, Nahed Al-Aqra’), knowing that most of them have been languishing since their arrest in the Ramle Clinic prison, and they witnessed the martyrdom of a number of their colleagues over the years of their detention. .

The number of martyrs of the captive movement reached (227), with the rise of the martyr Sami Al-Amour as a result of the crime of deliberate medical negligence (slow killing) during this year, in addition to hundreds of liberated prisoners who were martyred as a result of diseases they contracted in prison, including the martyr Hussein Masalma.

The number of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment reached (547), and the highest sentence was the prisoner Abdullah Barghouti, who was sentenced to (67) life imprisonment, including four prisoners who were sentenced to life sentences during the year 2021, they are: Yasser Hattab, Qassem Asafra, Nasir Asafra and Youssef Zohour.

As part of its systematic policies, the occupation continues to detain the bodies of (8) prisoners who were martyred inside prisons, namely: Anis Doula, who was martyred in Ashkelon prison in 1980, Aziz Owaisat in 2018, Fares Baroud, Nassar Taqatqa, and Bassam al-Sayeh, four of whom were martyred during the year 2019, Saadi Al-Gharabli and Kamal Abu Waer, who were martyred in 2020, and the last of them, Sami Al-Amour, during the year 2021.

The number of the old prisoners arrested before the signing of the Oslo Agreement reached 25, the oldest of whom were Karim Younis and Maher Younis, who have been detained since January 1983 on a continuous basis, and the prisoner Nael Al-Barghouti, who is serving the longest period of detention in the history of the captive movement, and has entered his 42nd year. In the occupation prisons, including (34) years continuously, where he was released in 2011 in the “Shalit” deal, until he was re-arrested in 2014.

In their report, the institutions indicated that the Israeli occupation authorities continued, during the year 2021, the policy of systematic abuse, and their systematic violations of the rights of prisoners and detainees guaranteed by international conventions and norms, as part of the violent structure they impose on the Palestinian reality.

A number of violations topped the reality of the issue of detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons, and escalated significantly during the month of May, due to the systematic arrest operations carried out by the occupation forces in all of Palestine to “restore” the policy of torture primarily and the policy of collective punishment of their families, in addition to the high level of Violence against detainees, including shooting them.

The report provides a monitoring of all policies, procedures and changes applied and introduced by the occupation authorities with regard to prisoners and detainees, and their reality and conditions inside prisons, during the period covered by the report, based on the outcome of monitoring, documentation and legal and field follow-up work carried out by the four institutions.

daily arrests

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to use the policy of daily arrests in the face of the struggle of the Palestinians to extract their rights and freedom, and the daily rate of arrests reached about 22 cases, and the highest rate of arrests was in May 2021, reaching (3100) arrests from all over Palestine Including the lands of 1948, in which 2,000 arrests were recorded out of the total number of arrests in the aforementioned month (noting that the arrests were monitored there during the month of May only), where the arrests at that time constituted a major shift not only in terms of the number of detainees, but also on the number of detainees. The level of violence that accompanied her. While the lowest rate of arrests was recorded in August 2021, it amounted to (345) arrests.

Prisoners’ institutions confirm that the highest rate of arrests in the governorates was recorded in Jerusalem and its suburbs from the beginning of the year until the end of the year, reaching (2784) arrests, including (750) minors, and (120) women, and some other governorates witnessed an increase in Arrests, including the governorates of Hebron and Jenin.

Abuses during detention and collective punishment

The daily arrest operations are accompanied by many methods, starting with breaking into homes in the late hours of the night, and the accompanying abuse and attacks against the detainee and his family, in addition to the deliberate use of excessive force by the occupation forces during arbitrary arrests, in an arbitrary and collective manner, and collective punishment extends to all stages of detention, Such as using the family as a means of putting pressure on the captive during the interrogation process.

Torture during interrogation

The occupation authorities pursue a policy of torture in its psychological and physical forms extensively with detainees during the investigation process, and its forms include sleep deprivation through continuous interrogation sessions, restraining the detainee during the interrogation period, tightening restrictions to prevent blood circulation to the hands and feet, beating, slapping, kicking, verbal abuse and deliberate humiliation, Beatings, which may lead to permanent disabilities, electric shocks, in addition to threats of arresting a family member, threats of sexual assault on the detainee or a member of his family, home demolitions or death.

This also extends to deprivation from using toilets, showering or changing clothes for days or weeks, exposure to extreme cold or heat, constant exposure to noise, insults and verbal abuse, and the level of interrogation violence may reach the “military investigation.”

arresting women

Palestinian women are subjected to arrest and abuse by the Israeli occupation authorities, like other segments of Palestinian society.

Until the end of 2021, the occupation authorities are detaining (34) female prisoners in their prisons, including the minor girl Nafth Hammad (14 years), the oldest of whom is the captive Maysoon Musa, who has been detained since 2015. Maysoon Musa and Aisha al-Afghani, who are sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Among the female prisoners (11) are women whom the occupation prevents from embracing their children, including the detainee Shurooq al-Badan, who is being held in administrative detention.

children arrest

During the year 2021, the occupation arrested more than (1,300) children and minors, and it also pursues the policy of administrative detention against children as well, as (6) children were arrested administratively during 2021, and (4) of them are still under arrest: Muhammad Mansour, Amal Nakhleh, Bara’a Muhammad and Ahmed al-Bayed, in flagrant violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that “the detention of children shall be a last resort and for the shortest possible period.”

Arrest of Legislative Council Representatives and Candidates

The number of deputies arrested until the end of the year reached (9) deputies in the last session, the most prominent and oldest of them: Marwan Barghouti, a member of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, who has been detained since 2002, and Ahmed Saadat, the Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who has been detained since 2006, in addition to the deputies: Nizar Ramadan. Khaled Tafesh, Yasser Mansour, Ahmed Mubarak, Nayef Rajoub, Muhammad Abu Tair, the last of whom was Hassan Youssef, who was arrested in mid-December 2021.

Arrest of journalists and activists, and the pursuit of social media posts

The Israeli occupation authorities continue to detain 10 journalists in their prisons, the oldest of whom is the prisoner Mahmoud Musa Issa from Jerusalem, who is sentenced to three life sentences.

During the year 2021, the occupation authorities continued to target journalists and activists with all their abusive tools, and the intensity of the attacks and prosecutions escalated with the escalation of the confrontation in May 2021, and it was concentrated in Jerusalem, where it witnessed the climax of the confrontation.

During the past year, dozens of arrest cases were recorded, on which trials were based, through monitoring the use of social media posts, which were classified as posing a threat to the occupation authorities as they carry “inflammatory” phrases. Sometimes up to 3 years, accompanied by fines estimated annually in the hundreds of thousands of shekels, and a number of them were transferred to administrative detention.

Targeting university students

During the year 2021, the occupation authorities launched a fierce attack on Palestinian university students, arresting 135 university students.

Administrative Detention Policy and Counter Strikes

Last year, the occupation authorities issued (1595) administrative detention orders, most of which were issued against former prisoners who spent years in the occupation prisons.    

Fines and financial compensation

During the year 2021, minor children were the major victims of financial fines, as they were arrested without any real charges that warrant their imprisonment and detention, and they were exposed to a number of violations that clearly violate the Convention on the Rights of the Child and what was issued by international institutions in this regard, as 100% of the minor detainees are attached They were sentenced to financial fines, until it became like a fixed policy to take revenge on Palestinian childhood and make money.

The reality of detainees inside Israeli prisons

Prisoners and detainees inside the prisons of the Israeli occupation are subjected to various types of violations that affect a wide range of rights guaranteed to them, according to international standards relating to prisoners, including systematic medical negligence and slow killing, due to which (72) prisoners have been martyred since 1967.

The number of sick prisoners in prisons reaches (600) prisoners in need of urgent medical care, in addition to the rise in the number of those who were diagnosed with cancer to (4), including the prisoner Nasser Abu Hamid, and at least (14) prisoners who have tumors of varying degrees.

The most prominent medical crimes during the year 2021 were; The murder of the prisoner Sami al-Amour, who was martyred on November 18, 2021, in addition to the prisoner Hussein Masalma, who was martyred shortly after his release in the said year.

solitary confinement

During the year 2021, prisoners’ institutions monitored the isolation of dozens of prisoners, and the isolation operations doubled after the “Freedom Tunnel” operation with the intensification of the level of confrontation between the prisoners and the administration of the occupation prisons, and some prison sections were converted to isolation sections such as Section (6) in the “Negev” prison.

Among what the institutions monitored is an increase in the number of cases of prisoners who began to suffer from mental health conditions as a result of this policy compared to previous years.

Collective Punishment Policy in Occupation Prisons

The occupation prisons administration escalated the use of the policy of collective punishment against the prisoners during the year 2021, specifically after the “Freedom Tunnel” operation, through the mass repressions that affected all prisoners, which was represented by a series of abusive measures and organized violations, and the imposition of a higher level of violence during the repression, and its aftermath. From isolation and transfer operations, deprivation of visitation and “cantina”, imposing exorbitant financial fines, and stripping prisoners’ rooms of their basic needs.

The repression operations continued during the current year 2021, and the most prominent of these operations were recorded against the prisoners of "Gilboa" prison, specifically after the "Freedom Tunnel" operation, where dozens of prisoners were suppressed, collective punishments were imposed against them, and injuries were recorded among the prisoners and extended to the "Negev and Raymond" prisons. “.

Obstacles to regular visits by the families of the prisoners

Since the outbreak of the “Corona” pandemic in March 2020, the Israeli occupation authorities have stopped all family visits under the pretext of fearing for the prisoners, and to avoid transmitting infection to them, while they did not take the necessary measures to protect the prisoners in their prisons, and did not provide mechanisms for human communication between them and their families, As an alternative to visits, in order for each party to reassure the other, but in turn, it used “Corona” as a pretext to punish the prisoners and their families, and deprive the two parties from visiting and meeting, which exacerbated their suffering.

 (547) prisoners serving life sentences - for life

The number of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment has increased to (547), as during the year 2021, the occupation issued life sentences against four prisoners: Yasser Hattab, the prisoner Qassem Asafra, Nasir Asafra, Youssef Saeed Zuhour, and all three of them are from the town of Beit Kahil in Hebron.

Among the dense numerical data related to prisoners, we find that (25) prisoners have been detained since before the “Oslo” agreement, and these are called “old prisoners” as they are the oldest prisoners inside the prisons of the Israeli occupation.

By the end of the year 2021, the number of prisoners who had been detained for more than (20) years increased to (112), including those who spent more than (25) years to (35) prisoners, and those who spent more than thirty years to (13) prisoners. And those who spent from (35) years to (8) prisoners.

This is in addition to (49) other Palestinian prisoners who were previously liberated in the Shalit deal in 2011 and were re-arrested by the occupation authorities in mid-2014. This year entered its 42nd year of detention, and this period is considered the longest detention period in the history of the captive movement, in addition to the prisoners Alaa Al-Bazian, Samer Al-Mahroom and Nidal Zalloum.

Education inside prisons

The number of prisoners who continue their education in several disciplines through Al-Quds University Abu Dis until the end of the first semester of the 2021 academic year and enrolled in the bachelor's program has reached (113) prisoners, and the number of prisoners enrolled in bachelor programs through Al-Quds Open University is (564).

As for the master's program through Al-Quds University Abu Dis, the number of prisoners enrolled is (49), and the number of prisoners enrolled through the University of Palestine in the Gaza Strip is (44).

With regard to the general secondary education exam during the year 2021, the number of prisoners who met the conditions to take the high school exam reached (486) prisoners.

Smuggled Sperm (Ambassadors of Freedom)

Until the end of 2021, the total number of prisoners who succeeded in procreation through smuggled sperm reached (71) prisoners, as they gave birth to 102 children, including a number of twins. By liberated sperm.

Occupation policies in Jerusalem

The Israeli occupation authorities approved the decision to withdraw the Jerusalem ID from the released prisoner, lawyer Salah Al-Hammoury, during the month of October 2021, knowing that he spent 9 years in the occupation’s prisons, and was prevented from entering the West Bank.

During the last two months of 2021, the occupation authorities carried out incursions into the homes of freed prisoners and prisoners under arrest, and seized sums of money and imposed seizures on bank accounts, and handed over to some of them the decisions issued against them showing the money imposed on them.

The occupation authorities also cut off the right to “national health insurance” for more than (30) prisoners inside Israeli prisons, freed prisoners and their families.

And last August, house arrest was imposed on 4 liberated prisoners in their place of residence: Yaqoub Abu Asab, Nasser Al-Hadmi, Salim Al-Jubeh, and Majed Al-Jubeh from Jerusalem for periods ranging from 3 to 6 months. The house arrest was renewed for the prisoner Abu Assab for a period of 3 months. November,” while Majed al-Jubeh was transferred to administrative detention, while Salim is under arrest and subjected to harsh interrogations in the occupation cells.

Bills targeting prisoners

The past year witnessed a series of bills as part of an all-out war organized by the Israeli occupation against the prisoners and their families.

The most prominent draft laws that the occupation government came up with were the withdrawal of citizenship from the prisoners of the 1948 lands as a racist “punitive” measure, in addition to a project aimed at restricting the prisoner’s right to visit by limiting it to one visit each year, as well as a draft law aimed at tightening prison conditions The prisoners, who were released by the occupation after Operation “Freedom Tunnel” and within the framework of the policy of collective punishment.

The latest bills approved by the Knesset in the first reading in December 2021, aims to bring in forces from the Israeli army to manage prisons, in order to strengthen the presence of forces in the sections where only Palestinian prisoners are held, to impose more oppression and terrorism against them.  

Theft of Palestinian funds allocated to the families of prisoners and martyrs

The occupation continues its war on the allowances of prisoners and their families, as the cabinet decided last year to continue deducting Palestinian clearance funds under the pretext of paying allowances to the families of prisoners and martyrs.

This came as a translation of a law passed by the Israeli Knesset in July 2018 to deduct tax revenues in the amount that the Palestinian National Authority pays as allowances to the families of prisoners and martyrs.