Palestinian in Israeli prison

Parróquia Santo Domingo
Zona Antigua
(contiguo al Colegio Loyola)
Managua, Nicaragua

Tel: (country code 505) 635-6381
Email: mull@ibw.com.ni

March 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

I recently spent six weeks in Palestine with the Michigan Peace Team, accompanying the Palestinians and working with them for justice and human rights. I also talked with Jewish rabbis and human-rights activists who are in solidarity with the Palestinians, and I met with Jewish people who are concerned about their own security.

As you can see from our report below, "A Daughter´s Plea for Her Imprisoned Father," I met Shifa Sarahneh, the daughter of Mohammed Sarahneh, a Palestinian teacher who is being held prisoner by the Israeli government. Shifa, a medical student, told me and another Team member about her father's situation, which we described in our report.

In a recent email message, Shifa stated:

"The court has not accused my father of anything yet; he is not guilty
of any crime. When his lawyer pushed for an
explanation the court said that there is a highly confidential profile
that the court cannot disclose. What we fear most is for the court to
keep on extending his time in prison without a clear cause.
"He is currently in Katso'at prison (in Naaqab, south).
"His health is poor. He needs an operation because he has perianal
bleeding and pain, but his captors ignore that and don´t let him have
the operation."

SHIFA SARAHNEH

In a subsequent letter (Feb. 28), Shifa gave the following information in response to an inquiry from Amnesty International:

Date, place and circumstances of arrest (the latest)
Date: Nov. 19, 2007
Place: Abu Dies-Bethlehem
Circumstances of Arrest: At 1:00 am, Israeli soldiers arrested Mohammad Sarahnah
after missing with the contents of his house and frightenning
children and other family members.

- Date of the first administrative detention order
Nov. 25, 2007

- Length of the first administrative detention order
(3 months or 6 months, etc)
4 months

- If subsequently reduced on appeal, date and result of appeal
Reduced on appeal to 3 months.

On Feb. 25, 2008, the administrative detention was extended for 3 months
Length of the present administrative detention order: 3 months

- Name and Telephone number of the lawyer dealing with the case --
Name of the lawyer: Mahmoud Al-Jabbareen
Telephone of the lawyer: 00972-507370413

- Name, Telephone (and/or e-mail) of family
Name of Family: Sarahneh
Email: dr.sarahneh@yahoo.com

I hope we'll be able to have our father back home as soon as possible. I highly appreciate your help. I'll be looking forward to hear from you.
Yours
Shifaa' Mohammad Sarahneh

*********************************************************************************

Please consider writing to your U.S. Senators and Representative about this case. (People in countries other than the U.S. are invited to ask their government to make inquiries about this matter to the Israeli government.)

A number of inquiries about this particular prisoner could get some good results.

The address of U.S. Senators is:
Name
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The address of U.S. Representatives is:
Name
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515


I, along with the Sarahneh family in the West Bank, would be very grateful to you if you would ask your U.S. Representative and Senators to demand of the Israeli government an explanation for the long imprisonment of Mr. Sarahneh and a report on his physical condition. Israel should reveal what he is charged with, if anything, when he will receive due process, and whether his family and an attorney have access to him.

I have furnished a sample letter in the APPENDIX below. Thanks for your kind consideration.

If you write to your Representative and/or Senators, please send me a copy, and please keep me informed of any response you receive from them.

Sincerely,

Father Joseph Mulligan, S.J.

A Daughter’s Plea for Her Imprisoned Father
A Report by Michigan Peace Team Members in Palestine
December 8, 2007

Full text available at http://www.michiganpeaceteam.org/LTT_Dec08_2007.htm

Riding back from El Khalil [Hebron] to Beit Sahour in a bus in early December, Martha and Joe were sitting near a friendly young woman with whom we conversed in English. The woman, Shifa’ Sarahneh, is a young medical student at Abu Dis University, doing her clinical courses in a private hospital in El Khalil, a city about an hour south of Bethlehem. She told us about her family of eight, which includes two brothers who are also medical students and one brother who is a dental student. The other four are younger and not yet in college. We thought, “What an amazing family.”

Shifa’ told us that her father, Mohammed Sarahneh, a high school math teacher who worked six hours every day after school tutoring to support his family, had recently been imprisoned. This was his eighth imprisonment in as many years. His family sometimes felt that they did not know their father because they saw him so seldom. He had been given a six-month prison sentence that could be repeated. Shifa’s mother is a teacher, but brings in little income because public school teachers are not being paid.

Shifa’ was aware of Christmas and Chanukah as a family holiday, although she is a Muslim. She mentioned the Muslim festival of Ead-Aladha which is celebrated this year near the time of Christmas. It is a happy family holiday for Muslims who visit one another and share their joys. She said she is especially sad at this time of year because, since her father has been put in prison, none of the family has had any contact with him, and none of them know if the six months’ imprisonment will be extended another six months. Since we met Shifa, she emailed us that her father has been moved to a more distant prison. Her father is not well and needs treatment, but Shifa doubts that he will receive the treatment he needs.

Her father was never given a reason for his imprisonment. There was no trial. The family does not know why he has been arrested now or in the past. Shifa’ showed us a picture of her father dressed up in a suit and tie. She was very fond of him.

Living conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are generally described by observers as extremely harsh and difficult.

Readers concerned about Mohammed Sarahneh may write to their U.S. Representative and Senators, asking them to demand of the Israeli government an explanation for the long imprisonment of Mr. Sarahneh. Israel should reveal what he is charged with, if anything, when he will receive due process, and whether his family and an attorney have access to him.

******************************************************

APPENDIX
SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATORS

Dear ,

I have just received the following message from Father Joseph Mulligan, a Catholic priest and member of the Jesuit Order who recently spent six weeks in Palestine.

Please look into this matter and demand of the Israeli government an explanation for the long imprisonment of Mr. Sarahneh. Israel should reveal what he is charged with, if anything, when he will receive due process, and whether his family and an attorney have access to him.

Thank you.

Sincerely,



Father Mulligan's message follows:


Parróquia Santo Domingo
Zona Antigua
(contiguo al Colegio Loyola)
Managua, Nicaragua

Tel: (country code 505) 635-6381
Email: mull@ibw.com.ni

March 6, 2008

Dear Friends,

I recently spent six weeks in Palestine with the Michigan Peace Team, accompanying the Palestinians and working with them for justice and human rights. I also talked with Jewish rabbis and human-rights activists who are in solidarity with the Palestinians, and I met with Jewish people who are concerned about their own security.

As you can see from our report below, "A Daughter´s Plea for Her Imprisoned Father," I met Shifa Sarahneh, the daughter of Mohammed Sarahneh, a Palestinian teacher who is being held prisoner by the Israeli government. Shifa, a medical student, told me and another Team member about her father's situation, which we described in our report.

In a recent email message, Shifa stated:

"The court has not accused my father of anything yet; he is not guilty
of any crime. When his lawyer pushed for an
explanation the court said that there is a highly confidential profile
that the court cannot disclose. What we fear most is for the court to
keep on extending his time in prison without a clear cause.
"He is currently in Katso'at prison (in Naaqab, south).
"His health is poor. He needs an operation because he has perianal
bleeding and pain, but his captors ignore that and don´t let him have
the operation."

SHIFA SARAHNEH

In a subsequent letter (Feb. 28), Shifa gave the following information in response to an inquiry from Amnesty International:

Date, place and circumstances of arrest (the latest)
Date: Nov. 19, 2007
Place: Abu Dies-Bethlehem
Circumstances of Arrest: At 1:00 am, Israeli soldiers arrested Mohammad Sarahnah
after missing with the contents of his house and frightenning
children and other family members.

- Date of the first administrative detention order
Nov. 25, 2007

- Length of the first administrative detention order
(3 months or 6 months, etc)
4 months

- If subsequently reduced on appeal, date and result of appeal
Reduced on appeal to 3 months.

On Feb. 25, 2008, the administrative detention was extended for 3 months
Length of the present administrative detention order: 3 months

- Name and Telephone number of the lawyer dealing with the case --
Name of the lawyer: Mahmoud Al-Jabbareen
Telephone of the lawyer: 00972-507370413

- Name, Telephone (and/or e-mail) of family
Name of Family: Sarahneh
Email: dr.sarahneh@yahoo.com

I hope we'll be able to have our father back home as soon as possible. I highly appreciate your help. I'll be looking forward to hear from you.
Yours
Shifaa' Mohammad Sarahneh


*********************************************************************************

I, along with the Sarahneh family in the West Bank, would be very grateful to you if you would ask your U.S. Representative and Senators to demand of the Israeli government an explanation for the long imprisonment of Mr. Sarahneh and a report on his physical condition. Israel should reveal what he is charged with, if anything, when he will receive due process, and whether his family and an attorney have access to him.

Thanks for your kind consideration.

Sincerely,

Father Joseph Mulligan, S.J.

A Daughter’s Plea for Her Imprisoned Father
A Report by Michigan Peace Team Members in Palestine
December 8, 2007

Full text available at http://www.michiganpeaceteam.org/LTT_Dec08_2007.htm

Riding back from El Khalil [Hebron] to Beit Sahour in a bus in early December, Martha and Joe were sitting near a friendly young woman with whom we conversed in English. The woman, Shifa’ Sarahneh, is a young medical student at Abu Dis University, doing her clinical courses in a private hospital in El Khalil, a city about an hour south of Bethlehem. She told us about her family of eight, which includes two brothers who are also medical students and one brother who is a dental student. The other four are younger and not yet in college. We thought, “What an amazing family.”

Shifa’ told us that her father, Mohammed Sarahneh, a high school math teacher who worked six hours every day after school tutoring to support his family, had recently been imprisoned. This was his eighth imprisonment in as many years. His family sometimes felt that they did not know their father because they saw him so seldom. He had been given a six-month prison sentence that could be repeated. Shifa’s mother is a teacher, but brings in little income because public school teachers are not being paid.

Shifa’ was aware of Christmas and Chanukah as a family holiday, although she is a Muslim. She mentioned the Muslim festival of Ead-Aladha which is celebrated this year near the time of Christmas. It is a happy family holiday for Muslims who visit one another and share their joys. She said she is especially sad at this time of year because, since her father has been put in prison, none of the family has had any contact with him, and none of them know if the six months’ imprisonment will be extended another six months. Since we met Shifa, she emailed us that her father has been moved to a more distant prison. Her father is not well and needs treatment, but Shifa doubts that he will receive the treatment he needs.

Her father was never given a reason for his imprisonment. There was no trial. The family does not know why he has been arrested now or in the past. Shifa’ showed us a picture of her father dressed up in a suit and tie. She was very fond of him.

Living conditions for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons are generally described by observers as extremely harsh and difficult.

Readers concerned about Mohammed Sarahneh may write to their U.S. Representative and Senators, asking them to demand of the Israeli government an explanation for the long imprisonment of Mr. Sarahneh. Israel should reveal what he is charged with, if anything, when he will receive due process, and whether his family and an attorney have access to him.

******************************************************