Palestinian 'administrative' detainees' boycott of Israeli courts enters 86th day
Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails continue their boycott of the regime’s military courts for the 86th consecutive day in protest against Israel’s so-called policy of administrative detention.
About 500 detainees have been refusing to show up for their military court hearings since the beginning of the year, the Palestinian Information Center reported on Sunday.
The boycott includes hearings for the renewal of administrative detention orders as well as appeal hearings and sessions at Israel’s so-called supreme court.
The Israeli authorities in recent months have issued or renewed more administrative detention orders against detainees. Over 200 such orders had been released against Palestinian detainees over the past two months, according to the the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).
Prisoners with chronic diseases have also been boycotting prison hospitals in a similar protest action for several consecutive weeks.
The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) keeps the prisoners under deplorable conditions lacking proper hygienic standards.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are held under the administrative detention, in which Israel keeps the detainees without charge for up to six months, a period which can be extended an infinite number of times.
The detention takes place on orders from a military commander and on the basis of what the Israeli regime describes as ‘secret’ evidence. Some prisoners have been held by the administrative detention for up to 11 years.
The administrative detainees are being held in different Israeli prisons, mostly in notorious Negev and Ofer prisons.
More than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners are currently held in some 17 Israeli jails, with dozens of them serving multiple life sentences.
Human rights groups describe Israel’s use of the administrative detention as a “bankrupt tactic” and have long called on Israel to end it.
Palestinians and rights groups say the administrative detention violates the right to due process since evidence is withheld from prisoners while they are held for lengthy periods without being charged, tried, or convicted.
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