PALESTINIAN PRISONERS UNDER THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

From the beginning of the military reinvasion of the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian Authority has been removed of the little authority conceded to them after the Oslo Agreements, and has no real legal system in practice today. Its prisons have nearly all been demolished, apart from one in Jericho and one in Gaza that are still functioning. There are a number of unknown areas in which political detainees are held. The use of torture has been reported, but there is no existing legal research nor recourse possible in these circumstances at this time.

The over 35 000 members of the police forces are usually the first target of Israeli military actions and, therefore, have vanished from the streets of the occupied cities. Although a Palestinian court is still active in Gaza, there is no comprehensive legal structure in effect for cases of violations of criminal laws committed by a Palestinian whose victim is a Palestinian.

The most prominent case of Palestinian Authority detention at this point in time is that of the six political detainees held in Jericho prison. As part of a political agreement to lift the siege on President Arafat's Ramallah headquarters in April 2002, details of which were never made public, four Palestinians were tried in a kangaroo-court by the PA, sentenced to between 1 to 18 years in prison, and then transferred to Jericho Prison. The four were accused of involvement in the assassination of the Israeli far-right Tourism Minister, Rehavam Ze'evi. They were tried in an impromptu Palestinian military court that violated all established Palestinian and international laws guaranteeing a fair trial with proper legal representation.

Referring to applicable laws in Palestine, no legal reference can be found in order to disregard civilian courts and justify the creation of a specific military court. Furthermore, the court consisted of three people without any legal training or background. The only material presented before the court were notes written by unidentified individuals from discussions held with the four defendants while they were imprisoned in Ramallah before the siege. Yasser Arafat ratified the court decision immediately. No appeal was permitted. In addition to the four, two Palestinian civilians, Ahmad Saadat and Fuad Shubeiki, were also transferred to Jericho under the supervision of US and British guards. The two were never put on trial, nor have they been charged or found guilty of an offence. Yet they remain incarcerated in Jericho, despite a Palestinian High Court Ruling for the release of one of the detainees. The foreign guards are charged with ensuring that these six detainees remain in continuous custody. Is this what is meant for the Palestinian, Israeli, US and British authorities by "reform" of the Palestinian Authority, "democracy" and the "rule of law"?