On 2 August 2007, late at night, the Israeli army arrested Mohammad Bsharat, Executive Director of Nafha Society for Defense of Prisoners and Human Rights, which is headquartered in Nablus. He was detained and interrogated at the Huwara detention center, where he and his fellow detainees are all subjected to inhumane conditions: six or more detainees are crowded into each cell, are given food of poor quality and are permitted access to the outside restroom only 3 times a day. There was no arrest warrant and no charges have been brought against Mr. Bsharat. According to his lawyer, Fares Abu-el-Hasan, he has been questioned about his legal human rights activities.

Mr. Bsharat’s detention was extended on 12 August and again on 19 August, and at his last hearing on 26 August, at the Salem military court, Mr. Bsharat was informed that he would be detained administratively for six months. He thus joins the almost 900 Palestinians in administrative detention, including 14 children, all without charge or trial - a status which can be renewed indefinitely. Mr. Bsharat situation is worsened by the fact that he suffers from chronic hyper-sensitivity and severe renal spasms as a result of kidney stones and, like so many other Palestinian detainees, is not getting proper medical attention.

Legally established and registered with the Palestinian Authority in 2006, Nafha is one of several NGOs representing Palestinian detainees in Israeli courts and advocating on behalf of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers. It also works with released prisoners to help ease them back into daily life and offers prisoners’ families, in particular their children, psychological and social support.

Nafha is a member of the United Against Torture Coalition, a coalition of Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights NGOs. An attack on any human rights defender because of his/her legal activities is an attack upon us all. We therefore strongly protest Mr. Bsharat’s detention and demand that he either be charged and given a fair trial – or immediately released.

UNITED AGAINST TORTURE
Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel
Al-Haq – Law in the Service of Man
An-Najah Center for Human Rights
Al Quds Human Rights Clinic
Defense for Children – Palestine (DCI-PS)
Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP)
Hurriyyat – Center for Defense of Liberties & Civil Rights
Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS)
Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners
Nadi Al Asir (Palestinian Prisoners’ Club)
Nafha Society for Defense of Prisoners & Human Rights
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI)
Treatment & Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture (TRC)