Jordanians demand UN action over Palestinian hunger-striking prisoner

Jordanian civil society groups protested Sunday outside the United Nations headquarters in Amman, demanding action towards the release of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoner Muhamaad Al-Qeeq.

Al-Qeeq, a journalist, is being held by Israeli occupation authorities under ‘administrative detention’, without charge or trial. He has been on hunger strike since November 2015.

The protest included participation by a variety of institutions, trade unions, grassroots and popular movements, political parties, and journalists.

The demonstration demanded that the UN pressure Israel to release Al-Qeeq, along with other administrative detainees.

During the protest, members of a national campaign to free Al-Qeeq handed in a statement to UN officials, addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva Zeid Bin Raad.

The statement, endorsed by 58 Jordanian bodies including political parties, unions, popular movements as well as a number of media agencies, urges the UN to immediately intervene in Alqeeq’s case, and also demands that the UN terminates contracts with security giant G4S.

G4S, a long-standing campaign target of activists worldwide, provides services to Israeli prisons and detention centres, and is complicit in the system of administrative detention.

Protesters held banners reading “Freedom for Muhammad Al-Qeeq,” “Victory to the Battle of Hungry Stomachs”, and “Administrative detention sponsored by G4S.” The campaign also organised a Twitter storm using #Freedom4Alqeeq, and intends to continue pressure on the United Nations.

Photo credit: Jordanian Campaign to defend Palestinian journalist Mohammed Al-Qeq