Adalah and Al Meezan Challenge the Ban on Foreign Travel Issued Against Sheikh Ra’ed Salah

On 18 February 2002, Adalah Staff Attorney Orna Kohn sent a letter to the Minister of Interior, Eliyahu Yishai, demanding the cancellation of his order prohibiting Sheikh Ra’ed Salah, the Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, from traveling outside the country. Minister Yishai issued the order on 16 February 2002, without giving Sheikh Ra’ed the opportunity to challenge it. This lack of procedure violates Sheikh Ra’ed’s due process rights to contest the order in an administrative proceeding. Most importantly, the order also violates his right to freedom of movement, guaranteed in the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.

The Minister issued the order on the grounds that Sheikh Ra’ed’s travel allegedly constitutes a threat to state security, based solely on secret evidence. Adalah has asked Minister Yishai to provide all of the materials that he reviewed before reaching his decision, as well as a written explanation of his rationale for issuing the order. Should the Minister refuse to rescind this arbitrary order against Sheikh Ra’ed, Adalah and Al Meezan Association for Human Rights will file a petition to the Supreme Court demanding the cancellation of the order.

Minister Yishai issued the order against Sheikh Ra’ed under Article 6 of the Emergency Regulations (Foreign Travel) (1948), which authorizes the Minister of Interior to ban individuals from traveling out of the country for reasons of national security. This article was used primarily during the 1950s, under the military administration that was imposed on Palestinian citizens of Israel between 1948 and 1966. Even during this period, Article 6 was applied only in rare circumstances.

The severity of this measure and the speed with which the Minister issued the order recall the military administration. During this time, the Israeli government employed a systematic policy of restricting the basic rights and freedoms of the Palestinian citizens of Israel and targeting their political leaders. Adalah is gravely concerned at this apparent return to the practices that characterized an era of political repression, in the context of ongoing actions against the Arab political leadership in Israel.