Prison message from Ewa Jasiewicz
Alice Coy | 18.08.2004 15:43
Ewa managed to telephone out from the detention centre at Ben Gurion airport, Israel, where she has been held since last Wednesday, when, not accused of any crime and with a press card and commisions from UK journals she was detained as she attempted to enter the country. Her lawyer has been refused access to the "evidence" against her, on security grounds.
"I'm a witness to Israeli war crimes, one being an extra judicial killing of Baha Al Bahesh, a 14 year old boy from Nablus who was shot 2 years ago. He was unarmed, in a non combat, non public order situation. I also witnessed other violations of the Geneva convention such as collective punishment, the demolition of houses and wanton destruction of people's livelihoods."
"I'm being treated not badly. My conditions are 50 million times better than Palestinian prisoners."
"Yesterday I fasted in solidarity with the Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli custody."
"The Israeli left are visionaries, a hopeful, progressive current working with Palestinians and Internationals"
"I feel frustrated, targeted, demonised. They're telling me how to do my job"
"My activism stems from a feeling of social responsibility. Its not enough to write a story about a situation or family, but I also must make change. I'm not just an observer. If I see a breach of human rights or international law I have a responsibility to intervene. I'm not in the journalism industry to make money or a name for myself."
"I don't think anything is black and white. I wanted to investigate the situation in Israel. How the economy is affected by the intifada. What do ordinary Israelis think about the radical movement. I'm here to write about the Israeli left."
"Democracy needs a plurality of opinion, a plurality of positions and voices. Attempts to homogenise public opinion or to constrict political expression sows the seeds of dictatorship. When what can be said or read is decided by and censored by the state and where the dominant narrative becomes that which serves those in power and their vision and their opinions, not only profoundly dillusional and totally anti democratic, but is destructive to any society."
"I'm fueled partly by my curiousity. I want to get to the truth of everything. I've seen a lot from the Palestinian side. I also wanted to hear the progressive, radical Israeli voice, which is normally absent from what is reported. Lots of Jews and Israelis do not want to be associated with the
She wanted to make it clear that her conditions are nothing compared to the brutality, torture and human rights abuses that Palestinian prisoners face.
She sounded upbeat and positive. She said she found it interesting to hear what the guards had to say, and listen to their stories, although it was difficult as she couldn't correct them when she knew they were wrong about incidents.
She was especially keen to stress that the case of her friend Baha, a 14 year old boy from Nablus who was shot dead in front of her, and some other Internationals in Nablus 2 years ago, is still waiting for justice.
***
I'm Jewish, I have Israeli cousins, and I support the right to self determination for Jews, as any other people, but NOT at the expense of other peoples' rights. I have known Ewa for many years, and consider her intelligent, compassionate and courageous. She has spent over a year in total in Palestine and Iraq, where she learnt Arabic.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmond Burke
"I'm being treated not badly. My conditions are 50 million times better than Palestinian prisoners."
"Yesterday I fasted in solidarity with the Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli custody."
"The Israeli left are visionaries, a hopeful, progressive current working with Palestinians and Internationals"
"I feel frustrated, targeted, demonised. They're telling me how to do my job"
"My activism stems from a feeling of social responsibility. Its not enough to write a story about a situation or family, but I also must make change. I'm not just an observer. If I see a breach of human rights or international law I have a responsibility to intervene. I'm not in the journalism industry to make money or a name for myself."
"I don't think anything is black and white. I wanted to investigate the situation in Israel. How the economy is affected by the intifada. What do ordinary Israelis think about the radical movement. I'm here to write about the Israeli left."
"Democracy needs a plurality of opinion, a plurality of positions and voices. Attempts to homogenise public opinion or to constrict political expression sows the seeds of dictatorship. When what can be said or read is decided by and censored by the state and where the dominant narrative becomes that which serves those in power and their vision and their opinions, not only profoundly dillusional and totally anti democratic, but is destructive to any society."
"I'm fueled partly by my curiousity. I want to get to the truth of everything. I've seen a lot from the Palestinian side. I also wanted to hear the progressive, radical Israeli voice, which is normally absent from what is reported. Lots of Jews and Israelis do not want to be associated with the
She wanted to make it clear that her conditions are nothing compared to the brutality, torture and human rights abuses that Palestinian prisoners face.
She sounded upbeat and positive. She said she found it interesting to hear what the guards had to say, and listen to their stories, although it was difficult as she couldn't correct them when she knew they were wrong about incidents.
She was especially keen to stress that the case of her friend Baha, a 14 year old boy from Nablus who was shot dead in front of her, and some other Internationals in Nablus 2 years ago, is still waiting for justice.
***
I'm Jewish, I have Israeli cousins, and I support the right to self determination for Jews, as any other people, but NOT at the expense of other peoples' rights. I have known Ewa for many years, and consider her intelligent, compassionate and courageous. She has spent over a year in total in Palestine and Iraq, where she learnt Arabic.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Edmond Burke
Alice Coy
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Palestinian Prisoners
18.08.2004 15:48
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons Go on Hunger
Strike!
Please Join us in Support of the Prisoners and Their Families!
International Day of Action September 4, Saturday
Friends,
Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli prisons are subjected
to
inhumane conditions in violation of Israeli and International
Law.
7,500 political Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli
prisons
will begin a hunger strike in the second half of August to
protest
the following violations of their rights and to demand that
Israel
follow the rule of law in regard to the treatment of prisoners.
The Committee for Families asks you also to organize a day of
international solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on:
September 4, Saturday
Contact the Israeli Government in protest of the violation of
international law and basic human rights! Support our demands to
be
treated humanely!
The Demands of the Prisoners and their Families:
1. Demand that prison guards immediately cease beating
prisoners in
their cells, the courtyards and during transport between
prisons.
Demand that prison guards immediately cease shooting tear gas
into
prisoner's cells, into the courtyards and during transport
between
prisons. Demand that prison guards immediately cease entering
prison
cells with guns for the purpose of intimidating the prisoners.
2. Demand that the practice of subjecting prisoners to full
body
searches each time they enter or exit their cells cease
immediately.
3. Demand an immediate cessation of the practice of keeping
prisoners in solitary confinement for long periods of time,
sometimes months or even years.
4. Demand that the practice of confiscating money from
prisoners,
revocation of visitations, and extended confinement to cells as
punishment for 'crimes' such as singing or speaking too loudly
cease
immediately.
5. Demand that ill prisoners be given access to adequate
medical
treatment and that the withholding of necessary medications
cease
immediately.
6. Demand that all prisoners be allowed family visitation.
Further
demand that travel to/from the prison for families of prisoners
be
expedited. Currently families must travel 16 or 17 hours to for
a 45
minute visit even if the distance is a few kilometers. Demand
that
the strip searching of families as a routine practice cease and
that
prisoners be allowed more than one visitor every two weeks.
7. Demand that the communication system between prisoners and
families during visits improve. Currently prisoners are
separated
from visitors by two walls, one of glass and one of metal mesh
that
are difficult to see through and nearly impossible to hear
through.
8. Demand that prisoner's diets be adequate to sustain health.
9. Demand that rules on items that prisoners can receive from
families be consistent from visit to visit and not changing on
the
whim of the guard.
10. Demand that child prisoners be housed separately from adult
prisoners and that there be separation of political and criminal
prisoners.
These conditions violate Israeli law, regulations of Israeli
prisons
and international law.
The Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners request that you
join in solidarity with our sons, daughters, fathers, mothers,
brothers, and sisters and help bring pressure on the State of
Israel
to cease these violations of law and to treat Palestinian
prisoners
humanely.
We ask you to assist us in this campaign by sending letters,
faxes,
emails, or by telephoning the Israeli government to protest the
treatment of Palestinian political prisoners and to demand that
the
demands of the striking prisoners be met.
Please copy any communication of protest and support to the
Committee for Families (you will find addresses below). It is
very
important for prisoners and their families to know about the
international solidarity with this important action.
Please invite your associations, democratic organizations and
friends to join us in this demand for our rights!
With Peace,
Families of Palestinian Political Prisoners
General Secretariat,
Mahmoud Ziadi
Ramallah, August 4, 2004
Israeli Government Contacts:
Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, P O Box 187
Jerusalem 91919, Israel
Telegram:Prime Minister, Jerusalem Israel
Fax: +972 2 6705475
E-mail:
Minister of Justice, Yosef Lapid
Ministry of Justice
29 Salah al-Din Street
Jerusalem 91010, Israel
Telegram: Justice Minister, Jerusalem Israel
Fax: +972 2 6285438
E-mail:
Minister of Defence, Shaul Mofaz
Ministry of Defense
37 Kaplan st.
Tel-Aviv 61909
Israel.
e-mail: mailto:
Fax:+972-3-696-27-57/ +972-3-691-69-40 / +972-3-691-79-15
OR: Fax: +972-3-696-27
Minister of Police, Tzahi Hanegbi
Ministry of Public Security
Kiryat Hamemshala
P.O.B. 18182
Jerusalem 91181
Tel: 972-2-5309999
Fax: 972-2-5847872
email
Addresses of worldwide Israeli embassies can be found at
For more information telephone 972 2 277 4602, visit our
temporary
website
Please, send copy of your letters and mails to:
Families Committee of Political Palestinian Prisoners
Mahmoud ZIADI
P.O.B. 2151
RAMALLAH
West Bank – Palestine
E-mail:
alice