On 25 November 2008, Adalah submitted a pre-petition to the Director of the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the Attorney General demanding that the IPS end discrimination against Palestinian political prisoners in the provision of cultural and social services inside prison. In the letter, Adalah Attorney Abeer Baker stated that in case the IPS does not respond to this demand, Adalah will turn to the Supreme Court to compel it to do so.
Adalah argued that the most recent reports issued by the IPS reveal that Palestinian political prisoners classified as “security prisoners”, and in particular young people, are prevented from participating in activities related to professional training and training in technical skills, and even recreational activities. These prisoners are also prevented from contact with social workers in prison, unlike prisoners classified as criminal prisoners, who can participate in all of the educational and cultural activities offered inside prison and have access to the services of social workers, particularly during difficult times.
Adalah emphasized that social services in prison aim to help prisoners to ease the pressures they face in prison and to provide them with the necessary tools to cope with difficulties in prison and prepare them to return to their families and society following their release. Another purpose of social services is to acquaint prisoners with their legal rights to enable them to demand them, if necessary, in the most informed manner possible. These services are especially important in the case of children and young people, as they can have a direct impact on their development, including their relationships with their families. While incarcerated youth are in great need of relations with their families, they have almost no contact with them because of the severe restrictions imposed on visits to political prisoners and on family members from leaving the West Bank and Gaza to visit their relatives incarcerated in Israeli prisons.
Adalah further argued that the experience of being imprisoned and being deprived of one’s freedom is basically the same for Palestinian political prisoners as it is for other prisoners, albeit far harsher given the numerous restrictions imposed on their contact with the outside world and their families. These restrictions make their need for social services all the greater and more pressing. In addition, the humanitarian needs of theses prisoners correspond to those of other prisoners as they are human beings, a fact that is not altered by their classification as security prisoners.
In the letter, Adalah contended that the right of prisoners to take part in educational and social activities is protected under international human rights conventions, and that differentiating between prisoners is even incompatible with Israeli law and decisions of the Israeli Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has previously decided on more than one occasion that discrimination between prisoners is only permissible for “objective” reasons, and not just because a prisoner has been classified as a security or non-security prisoner.
Therefore, Attorney Baker demanded that the IPS end its sweeping ban on the participation of Palestinian political prisoners in cultural and social activities and decide on a case-by-case basis according to the situation of the prisoner, and his or her needs and requests.