The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Dr. Abdel Aziz Dweik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/180/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 179th session (October 2006),

Taking account of the letter from the Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, dated 17 April 2007, addressed to IPU President Pier Ferdinando Casini and of the information provided by a member of the PLC at the hearing with the Committee during the 116th Assembly,

Recalling that Dr. Dweik was arrested at his home in Ramallah during the night of 5 to 6 August 2006 by the Israeli Defence Forces; the arrest came in the context of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip to obtain the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier kidnapped on 25 June 2006 in a cross-border attack on Israeli military installations; Hamas and the Palestinian Authority deny responsibility for the kidnapping; a decision by the Ofer military court ordering Dr. Dweik's release was overturned on 25 September 2006 by the Ofer military appeal court, which ruled that he would have to remain in jail pending trial on charges of membership, leadership and action on behalf of a terrorist organization, namely Hamas; considering in this respect that, according to the sources, the argument underlying this charge is as follows: you are a member of the PLC, elected on the ticket of the Change and Reform list, which is supported by Hamas, a terrorist organization; hence you are a member of a terrorist organization and, as a member of parliament, assuming a leadership role,

Recalling that, according to reports of late August 2006, Dr. Dweik who is from Hebron, is held in an Israeli prison far from his home in northern Israel; he is being held in solitary confinement and is in poor health, suffering from chest pain and shortness of breath, and considering in this respect the following information provided by the PLC Deputy Speaker: Dr. Dweik is held in solitary confinement in a small prison cell measuring 1.8 by 4 metres, full of creeping insects, and is served bad food, which has aggravated his state of health; his blood pressure is high and he has kidney stones; Dr. Dweik needs attention and continuous health care since he suffers from heart disease; a court ruling allowing him to be examined by an Arab doctor was only applied after considerable representations,

Considering that no trial has so far been conducted as it is constantly postponed, the last hearing scheduled for 15 April 2007 being postponed until 27 May 2007,

Considering that on 9 January 2007 the Israeli security forces reportedly arrested Dr. Dweik's bureau chief, Abd-al-Qahir Surur, who is said to have surrendered to the Israeli forces following threats from the Israeli army that it would otherwise detain his aged father,

1. Deplores the fact that the Israeli authorities have provided no information on the situation of Dr. Dweik;

2. Recalls that Dr. Dweik stood in the January 2006 elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council on the list of Change and Reform and that the international community, including Israel, considered the elections to have been free, fair and secure;

3. Considers the charge brought against Dr. Dweik to be untenable, which seems to be borne out by the absence of any proper trial; and continues to believe that neither was Dr. Dweik arrested nor is he being held on any lawful grounds of specific criminal activity but for political reasons in defiance of fundamental human rights to freedom, security and a fair trial;

4. Affirms, moreover, that Dr. Dweik's arrest and continuing detention not only prejudice the right of the Palestinian citizens who elected him to be represented by a person of their choice, but also constitute an attack on the Palestinian Legislative Council itself, whose authority the Speaker symbolizes;

5. Consequently urges the Israeli authorities once again to release Dr. Dweik forthwith or to bring without further delay well-founded charges of specific criminal activity against him and to try him in a fair and transparent legal process, guaranteeing full defence rights, as required under international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

6. Is appalled at Dr. Dweik's conditions of detention and the lack of appropriate medical care; and urges the Israeli authorities to respect the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules of Prisoners and to afford Dr. Dweik without further delay the medical care he requires;

7. Requests that a Committee member be authorized to visit Dr. Dweik; requests the Secretary General to take the necessary steps to this end, and hopes that the Speaker of the Knesset will give favourable consideration to this request;

8. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 117th Assembly (October 2007).

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* The delegations of Palestine, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, Chile, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Canada, Somalia and Qatar took the floor in support of the resolution. Their observations may be found in the Summary Records of the 180th session of the Governing Council.

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