There are, at present, 33 women political prisoners in the Israeli jails: 15 in Hasharon Prison (Tel Mond), 17 in Damoon Prison (Carmel Mountain), 1 in Neve Tirza Prison (Ramle).
Hasharon Prison (Tel Mond)
Searches
On first and second of June, guards entered to women political cells and conducted harsh searches and made a mess of all their belongings. They also made searches on three prisoners in the nude.
Punishment
Ahlam elTamimi,
from Ramallah, was arrested on 14 September 2001. On 29 June 2011, when she was supposed to meet a lawyer, a guard told her that she must undergo a search in the nude before the meeting. Ahlam refused and said that she gave up the meeting with the lawyer. Despite this, guards violently made a search in the nude: the wing's manager pushed her inside the room, and when she could not do the search, the emergency alarm was activated and the search was conducted with re-enforced strength.
Immediately after the search, Ahlam was taken to disciplinary trial which imposed upon her seven days in an isolation cell. In protest, Ahlam went on a hunger strike, and the prison authorities imposed further punishment and transferred her to wing 2, a criminal prisoners' wing.
Her hunger strike had two purposes: one - the general demands of the political prisoners, which - among other things - demand: to stop the search in the nude, to stop harsh searches in prisoners' rooms, to get proper medical care, to ease the isolation by holding isolated prisoners together in an isolation wing . The second – her individual rights: a visit from her husband who is also a political prisoner, telephone calls to her family in Jordan and the right to be photographed in CD during ten minutes and send it to her family in Jordan. There are court decisions regarding the phone calls to her family and CD photography, and the prison authorities did not comply with them.
On 6 July 2011, Ahlam stopped the hunger strike, after the prison authorities promised to grant her individual demands.
Family visits
Rima Daraghma
, from Tubas, Jenin district, was arrested on 28 July 2004: since more than five months, the Israeli authorities have not permitted her family members to visit her. She suffers from many health problems.
Randa Shahatit
, 25 years old, from Dura near Hebron, was arrested on 6 January 2009. Since more than four months, the Israeli authorities have not permitted her mother to visit her.
Women under administrative detention
Hanaa Shalabi
, from Burqin, Jenin district, an administrative detainee, was arrested on 14 September 2009. In July 2011, the Israeli authorities extended her administrative detention an additional four months.
'Aliya J'abri
, from Hebron, an administrative detainee, 30 years old, was arrested from her house on 15 February 2011, and on 2 March 2011, the Israeli authorities issued an administrative detention order against her.
New prisoners
Muna Q'aadan
, 40 years old, from Arabeh, Jenin district, a former prisoner, has been subjected to her fourth arrest. She was arrested from her house at night on 31 May 2011 and was brought to Hasharon Prison to wing 2, a wing of criminal prisoners. She was held there in separation in harsh conditions and with poor nutrition. The Israeli authorities took her from there almost every day to interrogations in Salem Detention Center and in Hakishon Detention Center (Jalameh).
On 11 July 2011, several days after the Israeli occupation forces submitted an indictment against her, she went on a hunger strike demanding to be transferred to the wing with the women political prisoners in Hasharon Prison. On the next day, the prison authorities transferred her to Damoon Prison, and she continued her hunger strike demanding to be transferred to Hasharon Prison to the political women's wing. Instead, the prison authorities transferred her to an isolation cell. On 19 July 2011, she was transferred to Hasharon Prison to the political prisoners' wing.
Muna - as an experienced prisoner - when she was arrested again brought from her house clothes; but they were taken from her by the Israeli occupation forces and were not returned until today, more than two months after her arrest. Her husband's family – her husband is also a political prisoner - tried to bring her clothes in the usual way that prisoners' families bring clothes, but the prison authorities refused. The lawyer of "Women Organization for Political Prisoners", Taghreed Jahshan, sent a letter to the prison authorities demanding to allow the family to bring her clothes.
Muna's mother passed away on 22 July 2011
.
Bushra elTawil
, 18 yeas old, from elBireh, was arrested from her house on 6 July 2011. Soldiers entered her house, arrested her and also took all the computers in the house. Her mother, Muntaha elTawil, had been an administrative detainee and was released several months ago.
Bushra was brought to Ashkelon Detention Center, where she endured interrogations. During the interrogations her hands and legs were cuffed. The interrogators threatened her to arrest her parents.
The cell in Ashkelon Detention Center was very cold and dirty, and the light was turned on 24 hours a day. On 21 July 2011, she was transferred to Hasharon Prison.
Released Prisoners
Nilli Safadi,
34 years old, from Nablus, was arrested on 11 November 2009 and released on 10 July 2011.
When she was released, the prison authorities took from her personal correspondence including letters from her husband who is also a political prisoner. WOFPP's lawyer sent a letter to Hasharon Prison authorities demanding to at once return her all the letters.
Kifah Katash,
37 years old, from elBireh, an administrative detainee, was arrested on 1 August 2010 and released on 4 August 2011.
Samaha Hijaz
, 39 years old, mother of six, from elMazr'ah elSharqiya, Ramallah district, was arrested on 8 February 2011 and released on 5 July 2011.
Amal Taqatqah
, 22 years old from Bet Fajar, Bethlehem district, was arrested on 4 March 2011 and released on 30 May 2011.
Saj'a Shibani
, from Arabe, Jenin district was arrested on 31 May 2011 and released on bail on 21 June 2011.
Damoon Prison (Carmel Mountain)
Prisoners' rights violations
Recently the prison's authorities reduced the rights of the women political prisoners:
Searches
On 26 July, the prison authorities conducted searches in the women's cell at one o'clock in the night. When Amneh Muna commented about the search time, they answered her that in future they would conduct searches also at two and three o'clock at night.
Family visits
Somud Karaja
, 23 yeas old, from Safa, Ramallah district, was arrested on 25 October 2009. The Israeli authorities did not permit her family members to visit her. Also the letters that they sent her were returned, even though the address was correct.
Amal Jum'ah
, from 'Askar Refugee Camp, Nablus district, was arrested on 9 May 2004. The Israeli authorities did not permit her disabled brother to visit her. Since more than four months, the Israeli authorities have not permitted any of her family members to visit her.
Newspapers
After WOFPP's lawyer sent a letter about letting in newspapers, the prison authorities agreed to the request of Worud Kassem, and allowed her to receive the newspaper "Panorama". The women prisoners seek to receive also other newspapers.
Sentences
Ramya Abu Samra
, 30 years old, form Yatta, Hebron district, was arrested on 16 December 2010. On 18 July 2011, she was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 5000 NIS fine.
Women under administrative detention
Linan Abu Ghulme
, an administrative detainee from Bet Furiq, Nablus district, was arrested on 15 July 2010. In July 2011, the Israeli authorities extended her detention an additional six months.
Lawyers' visits
On 29 June 2011, the lawyer of WOFPP came to visit women political prisoners in Damoon Prison. The prison authorities ordered that the visit would be according to the new conditions: during the meeting with prisoners the lawyer has to be locked in a small sealed room.
She refused to visit under such terms and sent a letter to the Prison authorities with copies to the Public Defender, to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, to the Israel Bar Association and to the Public Committee against Torture. Yet the prison authorities - even though the letter was sent more than a month ago – have not bothered to send an answer.
For about a whole month, WOFPP's lawyer refused to meet with prisoners under these conditions and decided to visit the prisoners once only, under protest. At that visit, the prison authorities locked the room only during the meeting with the prisoners. Still it was the same small sealed room.
Released prisoner
'Aaisha Ghanimat
, 20 years old, from Surif, Hebron District, was arrested on 2 September 2009 and released on 4 August 2011.
Neve Tirza Prison (Ramle)
Maryam elTarbin
, from Jericho, was arrested on 25 January 2005. Since about six months, she has been held in a separation cell in the criminal prisoners' wing in Neve Tirza Prison.
For donations to WOFPP
:
Bank account:
Women's Organization for Political Prisoners (WOFPP)
Account number: 471067
BANK HAPOALIM
Branch 532
Daniel Frisch St. 3,Tel Aviv 64078, ISRAEL
IBAN number: IL 60-0125-3200-0000-0471-067
BIC (swift): POALILIT
Address to receive the contribution:
WOFPP
Frug Street 30
Tel Aviv 63417, ISRAEL