Support grows for Palestinian hunger striker

09/02/2012| IslamWeb

Supporters of Khader Adnan, a Palestinian activist, have called for a worldwide solidarity hunger strike, after human rights groups reported that his life was in danger.

Adnan, widely believed to be a leader of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, has not had food since mid-December when the Israeli army raided his West Bank home.

People from around the world tweeted on Thursday that they had joined the solidarity hunger strike, using the hashtag #9febHungerStrike.

Amnesty International said that Adnan's life was in danger as he continued his protest against his detention without trial or charge.

"He remains shackled to his hospital bed and constant under armed guard," the rights group said in a statement.

Adnan was arrested from his house in the occupied West Bank on December 17, and given a four-month administrative detention order by an Israeli military court on January 10.

The order will end on May 8, but Amnesty International said that it could be renewed indefinitely.

Adnan’s wife, Randa, complained that medical staff were treating him very badly after she visited him in hospital on February 7, the first time since his detention.

His health is deteriorating, she said, adding that a doctor had "mocked him when he asked for water and said that he should also stop drinking water".

"A lot of the hair on his face and head has fallen off. He has not been allowed to shower or wash during all his time in detention, nor is he allowed to wear warm clothes in this cold weather."

'Life at risk'

Musa Adnan, the prisoner's father, went on hunger strike on Monday to, as he said, "support his son and understand his pain".

In a statement, the Israeli Prison Service acknowledged Adnan's life was at risk and said he had agreed to take potassium pills, the BBC reported.

The prison service also said that Adnan had said he did not want to die.

The 33-year-old is protesting against what he says was a violent arrest as well as humiliating interrogation sessions.

He told lawyers and human rights organizations that masked soldiers violently broke into his house, where his mother and children were present.

Adnan said that his hands were shackled behind him and that he was thrown onto the floor of the military jeep and kicked and slapped by soldiers while they took him to the settlement of Mevo Dotan.

He told lawyers that he went on a hunger strike on the second day of his arrest to protest his ill-treatment by interrogators from the Israel Security Agency (ISA).

According to the ISA briefing that his lawyers received, Adnan was interrogated almost every day from January 18 until January 29; on some days he was interrogated twice.

The only lawyer allowed to visit Adnan said that he has been moved to five different hospitals and medical centers in the last week, which was not necessary given that he was only accepting medical treatment from Physicians for Human Rights.

Adnan’s lawyers believe that this was intended to add further pressure on him, including by making it harder for his lawyers and family to visit him.

PHOTO CAPTION

Palestinians demonstrate in solidarity with Khader Adnan, a senior member of Islamic Jihad jailed in Israel, who has been on a hunger strike for over seven weeks, during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012.

Al-Jazeera