Palestine: UPDATE - Human rights defenders Mr Jamal Juma and Mr Mohammad Othman have been released from prison
Front Line welcomes the news that, on 13 January 2010, human rights defenders Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma were finally released from detention. Jamal Juma was released without any specific restriction, whilst a fine of 10,000 NIS (Shekels) was imposed on Mohammed Othman and he will not be permitted to leave the country until the investigation into his case has closed.
Further Information
Jamal Juma is a well known human rights defender. He has been the Coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign since 2002. Mohammad Othman works with the “Stop the Wall” grassroots campaign.
At a press conference held last Thursday 14 January 2010, Jamal Juma explained to journalists who asked about his detention’s conditions in Moskobiyyeh interrogation center (in Jerusalem):
"I was detained in a tiny, narrow guardhouse, sleeping on a mattress less than 15 cm thick. Twenty-four hours a day a yellow light was on. It was impossible to fall asleep because every hour I was awakened by noises, someone knocking on the door or shouting through the small window of the cell. Insects were everywhere."
"The conditions in jail are terrible, I have talked with some other detainees who have been interrogated for 15, 16 hours with their legs and hands tied, or people who have prevented from sleeping for a period of 5-10 continuous days. When the guards move a prisoner from a place to another, he is blindfolded”.