Israel soldiers detain Chairman of Palestine prisoners’ rights group

Israeli soldiers detained the Chairman of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs yesterday, at the Karameh Crossing (The Allenby/King Hussein Bridge) on his return to Palestine.

The Commission said, in a statement, that Israeli intelligence detained Qadri Abu Baker for more than an hour, interrogating him regarding Palestinian prisoners’ steps to protest their administrative detention.

According to Wafa news agency, he was also questioned about his activities during his recent tour in Belgium, where he held several official meetings regarding Palestinian prisoners.

It comes after the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs released a joint report with the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association and the Wadi Hilweh Information Centre, revealing that the Israeli detention of Palestinians and the Israeli army’s crimes have been escalating steadily.

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In the report, the Palestinian rights groups said that the number of Palestinian prisoners inside the Israeli Occupation’s jails reached 4,780 at the end of January. They include 29 females and 160 minors -157 boys and three girls.

Moreover, according to the report, female Palestinian prisoners are facing the worst wave of human rights abuses, stressing that these amount to flagrant violations of international laws and conventions.

Female Palestinian prisoners have been subject to severe torture, a ban on family visits and humiliating inspections.

Israel holds about 4,700 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, according to Addameer, which supports prisoners’ rights. The figure includes convicted inmates and those held under so-called administrative detention with neither charge nor trial.

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