ISRAEL Communications sent

217. On 1 May 2001, the Special Representative sent an urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning Adnan al-Hajjar, a human rights lawyer and coordinator of the Legal Aid Unit of the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights in the Jabalia refugee camp situated in the Gaza Strip. According to the information received, he was arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces

on 23 April 2001 and was detained in Ashkelon prison without charge. It was reported that he was part of a group that left the Gaza Strip on 5 April 2001 to attend a training course on legislative formulation, organized in Cairo by the Arab Research and Training Centre as part of a programme for strengthening the capacity of the Palestinian Legislative Council. According to the information received, on 30 April 2001, Adnan al-Hajjar appeared before the Israeli Military Court, where the judge extended his arrest for 30 more days for investigatory purposes.

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Following a request for his release, it was reported that a representative of the Israeli military authorities objected, claiming that they had a confidential no-access file of claims against him, but refused to tell either Adnan al-Hajjar or his lawyer about the nature or contents of the file. It was alleged that his arrest and detention was connected to his work as a human rights activist and defence lawyer for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

218. On 1 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal regarding Abed al-Rahman al-Ahmar, a well-known Palestinian human rights activist, who works as a field researcher with the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG), a non-governmental organization working on human rights violations against Palestinians, regardless of who is responsible, in the West Bank, the

Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. He was reportedly arrested on 24 May 2001 while he was on his way home from Jerusalem to Deheisheh refugee camp, in the West Bank. In an interview on Israeli television, he is said to have argued for peaceful coexistence between Jews and Palestinians on the basis of full equality. According to the information received, he was held without charge and without access to his family at the Moscobiyya detention centre in Jerusalem. On 31 May 2001, he is said to have appeared in court without the presence of his lawyer, who had allegedly not been informed about the hearing.

219. On 14 June 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent another urgent appeal concerning Abed al-Rahman al-Ahmar. It was reported that, at a hearing on 11 June 2001, judges at the Israeli High Court of Justice refused to examine marks of shackles on his wrists. During the break in the hearing, prison doctors apparently agreed the marks were made by shackles, but did not testify. In addition, the judges rejected a petition filed by two human rights groups, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) and the PHRMG, calling for a stop to the torture during interrogation, for proper medical care and clothing to be provided to him and for him to be housed in more humane conditions.

220. On 6 July 2001, the Special Representative sent another urgent appeal jointly with the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning Mr. Abed al-Rahman al-Ahmar. According to the most recent information, despite the fact that there was allegedly no incriminating evidence against Mr. Al-Ahmar, the administrative detention order was reportedly renewed on 30 May 2001 by 20 days and

on 18 June 2001 by 15 days. Two appeals against these extensions were filed, but were rejected on 5 and 22 June 2001 by the Military Court of Appeals in Beit El, West Bank. According to the source, Mr. Al-Ahmar was the subject of a six-month administrative detention order, which reportedly allows the Israeli authorities to detain him without charge or trial until February 2002. It was reported that he was held in Megiddo prison in Israel.

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221. On 17 September 2001, the Special Representative, together with the Special Rapporteur on torture, sent an urgent appeal concerning Mr. Daoud al-Dir'awi, a lawyer and human rights activist working at the Ramallah office of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen Rights. According to the information received, Mr. al-Dir'awi was arrested on 10 September at the Allendy Bridge crossing point, as he was returning with his wife and baby from a holiday and crossing into the West Bank from Jordan. Mr. al-Dir'awi's arrest was allegedly motivated by his activities as a human rights lawyer. He was reportedly taken to Shikma prison, in Ashkelon and was interrogated by the Israeli General Security Services (GSS).

222. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation regarding the Israeli authorities' reportedly trying to prevent a certain number of Palestinian human rights defenders and activists from participating in international conferences and forums. This was the case for Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, founder and director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP), Commissioner-General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens' Rights and winner of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 1998. On 18 June 2001 the Israeli authorities reportedly denied him a permit to leave the country to go to Italy to participate in an international workshop. According to the information received, on the same day, allegedly for security reasons, the Israeli authorities are said to have banned

Dr. El-Sarraj, from leaving Gaza to take part in a television interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC was reportedly told by the Israeli authorities that the Israel General Security Services "Shabak" had categorized Dr. El-Sarraj as a category 10 high security risk and that his presence in Israel could compromise national security.