To Whom It May Concern
The Third Anniversary for the
Palestinian Political Prisoner Hussam Shaheen
In An Israeli Occupation Jail
I
am Nasim Shaheen, a Palestinian human rights activist, and the sister of
Hussam Shaheen. I am writing to you on the third anniversary of my brother’s
arrest. Hussam Shaheen is the Secretary of International Relations for the
Fateh Youth Organization and has been in an Israeli jail since January 28,
2004. Within a few days, it will be the third anniversary of his
imprisonment.
Since he was
arrested, he faced a terrible situation as thousands of Palestinian prisoners
do. Imprisonment also means investigations, physical and psychological
torture, and a lack of access to medical care. Often, prisoners are let to
die. Such was the case of Jamal Hassan Abdallah Al-Saraheen. He was
martyred inside an Israeli prison because he was not able to take needed
medication. This case is one from hundreds of cases that Palestinian
prisoners face inside these prisons.
Hussam’s friends
around the world conducted an international media campaign to support him and
all other Palestinian prisoners. The purpose of this campaign was to make
pressure on the Israeli government to respect the International Human Rights
Laws and the Fourth Geneva conventions, and to release Palestinian prisoners
because we believe it is helpful to the peace process. As a result of this
campaign, Hussam was moved from an isolation room to the ordinary section of
the prison after spending nearly two years in the isolation room. Also, some
of Hussam’s friends like Norwegian Labor Party and (AUF) attend Hussam’s trial
to show their solidarity and to support him in this terrible situation. They
also visited Hussam’s family to show their solidarity.
In addition, as you
very well know, after the second Palestinian parliament election, especially
after the Hamas Movement won the elections, the Israeli government widened
their violation of Palestinian rights, and arrested thousands of Palestinians
including women and children. As of today, there are more than 11,000
Palestinian prisoners.
Hussam is not the
only one in my family who has suffered. On April 10, 2006 Israeli forces
attacked my family’s house and arrested my brother Mohamad, the leader elected
of Fateh Youth Organization in Al-Sawahra. He also faced a terrible situation
in the investigation room, and until now both he and Hussam are in prison with
no sentence.
In conclusion, I
turn to you to make pressure on the Israeli government to release my brother’s
and all other Palestinian political prisoners. Hussam is a peace loving young
man and he has a vision for the peace process between the Palestinian and
Israeli people. He has spent his entire life, at the expense of living a
normal life, to work towards the freedom of our people and to spread the
message of peace all over the world.
Our Palestinian
society needs him, and we, his family, need him to be close to our parents.
My father is sick and up to this day, he is prevented from visiting his sons
in prison. Now is the time for human endurance. I strongly hope that you
will be with us.
Best Regards,
Nasim Shaheen
Human Rights
Activist
Mobile #:+ 972
599 873 712
www.safsaf.org
