International symposium on Palestinian prisoners held in Gaza

An international symposium on the thousands of Palestinians still detained in Israeli jails has been held in Gaza. The event was attended by European parliamentarians, human rights activists and journalists, in addition to Arab experts on prisoners’ affairs.

The European Network for the Defence of Palestinian Prisoners’ Rights, which organised the symposium, said that the European delegation was joined by other international researchers specialising in the law, detention and torture. The agenda included discussions on Palestinian political prisoners and detainees, the arrest of MPs, the detention of children and women, the physical and psychological torture of Palestinian prisoners, and the international movement for solidarity with the prisoners.

According to Mohammed Hamdan, the head of the European Network, the symposium is the first in a series of activities to be organised this month in support of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Palestinian Prisoners’ Day will be commemorated on the 17 April.

The first international conference on the rights of Palestinian prisoners was held in Geneva in March last year. Organised by Mr Hamdan and the European Network, it was attended by more than 50 European politicians and around 300 legal experts and representatives of human rights institutions.