Tel Aviv District Court to Hear Adalah's Petition Seeking Marwan Barghouti's Release from Solitary Confinement

Today, Adalah filed a petition to the Tel Aviv District Court demanding that it overturn the Prisons Authority's decision to place Marwan Barghouti in solitary confinement for five days. The petition was submitted by Adalah Staff Attorney Abeer Baker. The Tel Aviv District Court immediately issued an order scheduling a hearing on the petition for Sunday, 8 December 2002 at 9 a.m.

On 4 December 2002, the Associated Press published an interview with Marwan Barghouti, through one of his lawyers, Khader Shkirat. The Associated Press reported that Marwan Barghouti called to change some of the Palestinian leadership and reasserted the right of the Palestinians to resist the Israeli occupation of the Occupied Territories. Following the publication of the interview, the Prisons Authority decided to place Marwan Barghouti in solitary confinement for five days, alleging that he violated the internal orders of the prison. These internal orders prohibit prisoners from giving any interviews to the media.

In the petition, Adalah argued that these internal orders should be voided, as they are not based on any existing law or statute, and thus, the Prisons Authority lacks power to promulgate them. In addition, the scope of these internal orders is sweeping and overbroad, and severely violates prisoners' constitutional rights of freedom of expression. Marwan Barghouti's statements, published in the interview, reflect his well-known political positions, and as a leader, he has a basic right to express his opinions about the political situation.

Placing Marwan Barghouti in solitary confinement for voicing his political beliefs, Adalah added, amounts to double punishment. This is so, as the criminal indictment under which he is currently charged, includes offenses that also relate to his political position against the occupation. As such, the Prisons Authority's decision in this instance, if upheld, may lead to his prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. Further, the statements and viewpoint expressed by Marwan Barghouti in the interview are completely unrelated to maintaining order and security in the prison itself. It is only in this area that the Prisons Authority may exercise its power to discipline.

Adalah also emphasized that the punishment of solitary confinement for an alleged violation of these internal orders is disproportionately severe. As such, under international human rights principles, it constitutes "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment," which is prohibited. Moreover, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1957) clearly express that solitary confinement, as a form of punishment, should be used infrequently and exceptionally. Importantly, The Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (1990), a UN General Assembly resolution, encourages the restriction or abolition of solitary confinement as a punishment.

Based on all of these arguments, Adalah demanded that the Tel Aviv District Court order the Prisons Authority to immediately release Marwan Barghouti from solitary confinement.