FREE MANAL AND NOUR
LAWYERS' VISITS TO CENTRAL PRISONS
Lawyers face many difficulties when they visit Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Prior to their visits they have to coordinate the visit with the prison's administration. A list that indicates the names of prisoners that the lawyer intends to visit and a power of attorney must be sent to the prison's administration. This restricts prisoners' access to a lawyer.
* Visits to criminal prisoners are easier. The procedures are usually quick. Lawyers generally have their ID cards and briefcases checked quickly before the visit.
* In the case of political prisoners, the lawyer has to send the name of the prisoner he intends to visit, together with a power of attorney. He/she then has to wait for one or two days to receive a response. Lawyers are not allowed to wait inside the prison building. They submit the names of the prisoners they intend to visit and wait outside the prison for long hours. On 24 June 2004, Addameer's lawyer Mahmoud Hassan had to wait over three hours before being allowed to enter Shatta Prison. Before entering the prison, lawyers are subjected to a personal search, which is sometimes carried out in a humiliating manner. They are forced to take off their shoes to be checked electronically.
* Recently, lawyers have not been allowed to bring their briefcases with them into some of the prisons. For example, in Shkema Prison ('Asqalan) lawyers may not bring their briefcases with them even if they want to attend a detention renewal session. Visits are carried out in special rooms that are restrictive - a physical barrier separates the prisoner and the lawyer. They can not communicate easily and directly: instead, they must communicate through an internal telephone. A prison guard who understands Arabic is usually present in the room. He/she takes notes, despite the decisions of the Israeli High Court regarding the illegality of this act. The High Court held that guards must be at a distance where he/she can see the prisoner but cannot hear the conversation between the prisoner and the lawyer. However, if a lawyer informs a prison guard of this requirement, a fight usually erupts, and the guard argues that he/she received orders from the prison administration to monitor the conversation, with the intention to restrict the prisoner's and lawyer's freedom to speak and argue freely.
* Many complaints have been submitted to the prison administration to protest these conditions. Recently, a petition has been submitted to the Attorney General and the Israeli Prisons Authority regarding the presence and behavior of prison guards in the visitation rooms. These officials responded that the guards believed that they were performing their duty, but that they would have them stop such behavior. On 24 June 2004, Addameer's lawyer, during a visit to a prisoner in Shatta, had to interrupt his conversation with his client many times to ask the guard to move away. The guard went away but then he came back again to listen to the conversation.
* Lawyers usually meet political prisoners in the same room where families meet with their sons who are held criminally. This, of course, hinders the visit and restrains the ability to talk.