Supreme Court Upheld Administrative Detention of Palestinian Citizen of Israel

The Israeli Supreme Court, in a decision written by Justice Yakov Tirkel, today dismissed an appeal of the administrative detention order against Ghassan Athamleh, a Central Committee member of the Balad party (National Democratic Alliance).  The order, which was issued on 4 December 2000 by then Defense Minister Ehud Barak, was approved by the District Court of Nazareth in January and is based on “secret evidence” presented by the State’s prosecuting attorney and the General Security Services (GSS or ‘Shin Bet’).

The appeal was filed by Adalah lawyers Jamil Dakwar and Hassan Jabareen, who have represented Mr. Athamleh since he was initially detained.  In their appeal before the Supreme Court, they stated that the original administrative detention order did not include the beginning and end dates of the detention period.  Although a corrected order was signed and issued, this omission should not merely be considered a technical mistake due to the secret nature of the evidence against him, which severely hinders his right to a fair trial.  They also argued that the District Court erred in not allowing the defense to cross-examine the military secretary of the Minister of Defense, who had presented GSS materials to the Minister before the order was signed.  As a result, the defense team cannot ascertain if the considerations taken into account were legitimate and objective.  In addition, the District Court, who failed to address why Mr. Athamleh is considered a danger to national security, did not consider alternative measures such as house arrest or other restriction on movement.

Mr. Athamleh was detained on 21 November 2000 and subjected to GSS investigation for ten days before the Defense Minister issued an administrative detention order.  During this period, Mr. Athamleh was held in ‘incommunicado detention,’ not permitted to meet with his lawyers or family members.  He is being held in the Kishon “Jalamee” prison in isolation, denied contact with the other detainees and forced to remain in his cell 23 hours per day.  He is allowed to meet with his family only once a fortnight.

Adalah is gravely concerned that the Supreme Court has upheld the administrative detention order against Mr. Athamleh, who is considered a possible prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.  Such long-term detention without trial, based on secret evidence, severely violates his due process rights, in clear contradiction with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom (1992), which provides for the right to liberty and the right to dignity.