IPU had been particularly concerned over the fate of Ahmad Sa’adat, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), who has been in isolation for three years, in poor health and without access to medical attention until recently.
IPU has also welcomed the decision to resume family visits for Palestinians prisoners from Gaza which had been stopped following the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006.
Although reports of the deal mention the easing of the use of administrative detention which currently affects 300 Palestinian prisoners, including 24 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the IPU believes the practice should be abandoned permanently.
The Organization reiterates the call that those being held in administrative detention should be either released immediately or prosecuted under normal criminal procedure should sufficient evidence of criminal involvement be determined.
IPU, whose Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians has been actively engaged in finding a solution for 27 Palestinian MPs either in administrative detention or serving prison sentences in Israel, will continue to work for their release or for their right to due process.
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