...Mohammad's latest administrative detention order is now set to expire on 26 January 2010.
Mohammad [17 years old] has now been held for over 21 months without charge or trial, since 1 March 2008.
...Administrative detention
Administrative detention is detention without charge or trial and is often based on 'secret evidence'. Israeli Military Order 1591 empowers military commanders to detain Palestinians, including children as young as 12, for up to six months if they have 'reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area or public security require the detention'. The initial six month period can be extended by additional six-month periods indefinitely. This procedure denies the detainee the right to a fair trial and the ability to adequately challenge the basis of his or her detention.
There are currently at least 291 Palestinian men and women in administrative detention. For more information visit the DCI-Palestine website at Freedom Now.
To take action, please follow this link and write to your elected representatives and/or the Israeli authorities demanding an end to the practice of detaining children without charge or trial in administrative detention. Full story
Background information
At around 7:00pm on 1 March 2008, 17 year old Mohammad was at home trying to fix a gasoline heater when it exploded injuring his right hand. Mohammad’s parents immediately took him to the village clinic and an ambulance was called. A short time later, an ambulance arrived to take Mohammad and his parents to hospital.
At a road junction near the village the ambulance was stopped by Israeli soldiers. The ambulance driver was assaulted and Mohammad was transferred to an Israeli military ambulance and taken to Hadassa Ein Karim Hospital in Jerusalem. Mohammad’s parents were not permitted to accompany him inside the military ambulance. Later on that night Mohammad underwent surgery to his right hand and was informed the next morning that he had lost three fingers. Mohammad spent the next three days in the hospital with his feet and left hand tied to the bed and guarded by three Israeli soldiers. He did not receive any family visits during this time... Full story
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