Date:17/10/2017
Joris VAN WINCKEL
Political Affairs
The Office of the European Union Representative
West Bank & Gaza Strip, UNRWA
George Adam Street 5, JERUSALEM
Tel: +972 25415811 Fax: +972 25415848
Mobile: +972 548024922
Email: [email protected]
http://www.facebook.com/EUandPalestinians
Dear Joris VAN WINCKEL
RE: An invitation to follow up the trial of Raed Salah
For the time, an Israeli court set up a session on the 6/9/2017 for the purpose
of reading the indictments against Sheikh Salah and to present it to him. Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic
Movement a political party in Israel, who in the past appeared several times
before the Haifa Magistrate Court in a hearing to address the false charges of
incitement to terrorism which was filed against him by the Public Prosecution.
Charges against Salah are not supported by any
evidence; but rather, evidence has been presented that proves his innocence as
it falls within the framework of the right to freedom of belief and freedom of
opinion and expression.
Salah, who has been detained since August 15, 2017,
complained during his latest hearing of the poor conditions he is facing in
detention. He said that his prison cell in Hasharon Prison "is not suitable for
animals." He is being held in a toilet, where he eats, drinks, sleeps and
prays in a place full of waste, and with cameras monitoring him around the
clock. When Salah complained of the detention conditions to the prison
administration he was told it was "superior orders".
Israeli authorities have turned a blind eye to
thousands of extremists and Rabbis, including ministers in the Netanyahu
government, who openly call for ethnic cleansing and dispossessing of
Palestinians through various media sources. No charges have been filed against
any of them.
Accusations against Salah are fabricated and have
nothing to do with terrorism. There is, however, great interest in the activity
of Salah in the office of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he is
considered a threat to current and future projects aimed at demolishing the
al-Aqsa Mosque and building the Temple.
We considers the activities of Sheikh Raed Salah
consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all international
laws that protect the right to belief, demonstration, and freedom of opinion
and expression.
We confirm that what Salah is exposed to is not new as
he has been arrested several times previously on the very same charges. Indeed,
he is not alone in this kind of repressive treatment, for anyone who is active
in the defense of al-Aqsa and Jerusalem is either killed or arrested, be it a
child, woman or man.
We invite
representatives from the Office of the European in Palestine, to attend the
trial hearing for Mr Salah that will be set later.
We invite you to observe the trial procedure
and the nature of the charges put against him, as the intransigent decision of
releasing him on bail, and insistence of keeping him detained in a cell that
lacks any human life necessities is unseen in similar cases.
We also call upon the Office of the European
Union Representative, to announce that the detention of the Sheik is an
arbitrary detention, it is contrary to international law and that his trail is
one that goes against freedom of opinion, expression and belief.
If you need further information kindly do not
hesitate to contact us .
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Mahmoud El hanafi
Director