Khater sees her detention extended for 7th time

Israel today extended the detention of Palestinian writer Lama Khater for a period of one week.

This is the seventh time the 42-year-old has had her time in jail prolonged under the pretext that further investigations are being conducted, Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) lawyer, Firas Al-Sabbah, said.

Khater has undergone harsh interrogation techniques while incarcerated, the lawyer added.

The writer had previously told Al-Sabbah that Israeli security services handcuff her to a chair throughout the interrogation, deprived her of sleep and continue to curse and shout at her.

Interrogation sessions last more than 20 hours, she added.

Read: Israel arrested 3,000 Palestinians since start of 2018

Khater was detained by Israeli forces on 24 July from her home in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron.

She was detained for her anti-occupation writings and was accused of incitement and being a member in an illegal organisation. She denies all the charges.

According to prisoners’ rights group Addameer, there are 5,820 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons, 63 are women.