April 17th of every year marks the Palestinian Prisoner Day. Various public activities all across the Palestinian territories are held to show solidarity with the political prisoners held in Israeli jails and detention centers.
According to human rights Organizations, around 28 thousand Palestinians have been arrested by Israel since September 2000. Currently, some 7,500 Palestinians linger in 21 Israeli facilities, over half of which are under the control of the Israeli military, including 86 women and over 420 children. In addition, 166 Palestinians have died from torture and inadequate medical treatment while in Israeli jails.
Israeli arrest of Palestinians is mostly arbitrary in nature, with due process virtually disregarded. Detention without court arraignment is common and court hearings, which are administered by the Israeli military, overlook the standards of fair trials on several levels.
Israeli violations typically includes depriving detainees of proper representation by counsel, using confidential evidence not disclosed to counsels or defendants and conducting briefings in Hebrew without access to translation.
Administrative detention, a most common form of detention that “legally” disguises detention without trial, is extensively used by the Israeli authorities to imprison Palestinians indefinitely, while depriving them any legal recourse.
The practice has been harshly condemned by human rights watchdogs that say it is illegal and arbitrarily applied, calling for the detainees to be immediately released or indicted on concrete charges.
Israeli prison and detention facilities are characteristically overcrowded and the prevalent living conditions are extremely harsh and austere. Medical treatment is far from satisfactory and severe deterioration of health and death are not uncommon.
Israel continues to use physical and psychological pressure during interrogations of prisoners, a practice internationally condemned as torture by the United Nations. While Israel's High Court outlawed the use of what was termed "moderate physical pressure" of prisoners in September 1999, Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups say that interrogators have gradually reverted to techniques that amount to torture.
According to human rights groups, interrogation sessions, which can last up to 48 hours, commonly include beatings, leaving prisoners in uncomfortable postures, sleep deprivation, threats against the lives and properties of the prisoner’s relatives and other offending and humiliating practices.
In addition family visits are severely restricted and additionally hampered by travel restrictions imposed, effectively denying access to jailed relatives.
With the recent political developments granting Israel even more latitude instead of the required censure for its continued occupation policies, it will apparently not only continue to expand its hold of Palestinian land, but also continue to expand its prisons.
