Israel ignores court order to release Palestinian scientist

The Israeli authorities have ignored a court order to release Palestinian Professor Imad Al-Barghouthi on Sunday. He is continuing to be held under an administrative detention order, which means that there is neither formal charges laid against him, nor a trial, Quds Press has reported.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, the Israeli occupation authorities decided to keep Al-Barghouthi, 54, in custody despite the release order from the court, which found that there was no evidence which justified his continued detention in the notorious Ofer Prison.

The claim that Prof. Al-Barghouthi has used Facebook to “incite” against Israelis is “shameless and absurd,” said the head of the club’s legal department. “This proves that all the legal measures taken by the Israeli occupation against him are fake and do not pay any attention to the rules of law,” added Jawad Polis. He noted that these are simply “tricks” to keep the astrophysicist behind bars.

Read: The Palestinians imprisoned by Israel for their Facebook posts