RAMALLAH: On Thursday Addameer called for the immediate release of one of its employees, Ayman Nasser, a human rights researcher presently detained in an Israeli military prison in the occupied West Bank. 42-year-old Nasser was initially arrested during a raid on his home in Saffa on October 25th, after which he was placed in a 39-day interrogation, during which some days spanned 20 consecutive hours, Addameer said. His pre-existing health conditions, notably an inflamed spine and ulcerous colon, have significantly worsened while in detention. Last week, after over a month of detention without charges, the military court accused Nasser of participating in solidarity protests for hunger strikers and attending a commemoration event for the late Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Abu Ali Mustafa, assassinated by Israel in 2001 in Ramallah. Earlier this week, a military court denied Nasser bail. Addameer, a Palestinian prisoners' rights organization, release a petition on Change.org Thursday morning, calling on “the United Nations, the European Parliament, and all international stakeholders to uphold international rights and intervene for the immediate release of human rights defender and Addameer research Ayman Nasser, from the [Israeli occupation forces prison]." The organization also accuses Israel of violating the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights by imprisoning a defender of human rights. The press release stated: According to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, Ayman Nasser's detention is illegal by international law standards. Article 12.1 states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Last month Human Rights Watch demanded that Israel “stop harassing Addameer employees." As recently as November this year, 4,520 Palestinians are in Israeli detention centers, 164 of which are children. 156 are in administrative detention, a draconian practice in which prisoners are not charged and “secret evidence" is used against them. The full text of the petition is available below:
