The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. Hussam Khader, an incumbent member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/178/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 177th session (October 2005),

Referring also the report of the IPU trial observer, Mr. Simon Foreman,

Taking account of the letter from the Diplomatic Advisor to the Speaker of the Knesset dated 27 April 2006 and to information provided by one of the sources on 8 May 2006,

Recalling the following: Mr. Khader was arrested on 17 March 2003 in Balata refugee camp by the Israel Defense Forces and transferred to Israeli territory; his trial opened in July 2003; at the hearing of 4 September 2005, Mr. Khader accepted a plea bargain in which it was agreed that two of the five counts held against him would be deleted and that one count would be amended; on the basis of the amended charges no longer accusing him of personal responsibility for acts of violence, Mr. Khader admitted to providing a service to an illegal association, provision of resources for the performance of a felony, and failure to prevent an offence; a plea bargain was also reached on the sentence and, on 27 November 2005, Mr. Khader was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, starting from the day of his detention, and a period of parole of five years, with 12 months' imprisonment if he breaks his parole, starting from the day of his release,

Recalling that in his report Mr. Foreman concluded that "Mr. Khader has not, since his arrest two and a half years ago, had the benefit of compliance with the international rules of fair trial", and stated that "these shortcomings give the impression that Israel has, for the sake of combating terrorism, abandoned the idea of ensuring absolute respect in all circumstances for the physical and mental integrity of prisoners, which nonetheless is an overriding obligation, from which no exceptional circumstance allows any derogation",

Considering that, in his letter of 27 April 2006, the Diplomatic Advisor to the Speaker of the Knesset expressed the reservation of the Israeli authorities to the report and emphasized the following points: (i) Mr. Khader was convicted on the basis of his own admission of guilt; (ii) information about Mr. Kadher’s whereabouts during his preventive detention could be obtained from the detention operations centre of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF); (iii) given the especially grave security situation at the time in question, Israeli law allowed as a temporary measure extension of the period of detention before being brought before a judge from 8 to 12 days after arrest and Mr. Khader was brought before the judge 10 days after his arrest, i.e. within the legally permitted time limit; (iv) most legal systems seeking to confront terrorism provide for some measure of incommunicado detention; (v) Mr. Khader made no claim of “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment” during the entire judicial process; (vi) the military court system established by Israel in the occupied territories is that envisaged by Article 66 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the continued application of the current legal system was part of the agreed arrangements in the legal annex to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement; and (vii) in every legal system it is possible, within the statutory limit, to prevent the introduction and use of certain confidential material,

1. Thanks the Diplomatic Advisor for the comments provided;

2. Requests the Committee to share its observations on these comments with the Israeli authorities and to report to it in this respect at its next session, to be held during the 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006);

3. Reiterates its wish for a Committee member to pay a private visit on Mr. Khader in prison, and requests the Secretary General to contact the new Israeli parliamentary authorities in this respect.

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