Copied from Miko Peled: Palestinian Lawyer, Shireen Issawi, has been held captive in the prisons of the Israeli occupation since 6 March of this year. She was accused together with five other attorneys of working against the Israeli state with hostile entities. Shireen is well-known for having been the spokeswoman and one of the main protagonists of the campaign calling for the release of her brother Samer Issawi, the man who waged the longest ever hunger strike. She was arrested after the release of Samer Issawi, as an act of revenge against her and her family, most of the members of which have been imprisoned before, and one of whom was martyred during the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre. Three siblings of the family are still imprisoned: Shireen, who has been held in isolation since May this year, her legendary brother Samer who is in a bad state of health, and their brother Medhat Issawi. The International Free Shireen Issawi Campaign started after the arrest of Shireen Issawi, at the beginning of April and managed to organize a number of activities in several parts of the world, among them Beirut, London, Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Palestine. The campaign also managed to appoint a specialized lawyer for her defence, with the help of an organization that helped cover the legal expenses, as well as campaigning by means of writing countless letters to human rights organisations worldwide in order to get them to pressure Israel for her release. In honor of Shireen Issawi and in recognition of her efforts, the Geneva-based Alkarama organization has decided to grant her the Alkarama Human Rights Award on International Human Rights Day. Since Shireen is still in detention, her parents and the campaign coordinator, Badee Dwaik, have been invited to receive this international award in a grand ceremony attended by a number of world renowned personalities, among them the well-known intellectual Noam Chomsky, and former United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk. Dwaik called for the internationalization of the prisoners issue, and for pressure on Israel to treat Palestinian political prisoners as POW’s, as well as for an end to the practice of administrative detention without accusation. He expressed a need for international protection for the Palestinian people. Previously, the campaign had issued a press release stating: “This award is a badge of honor for Shireen, her family, Palestinian political prisoners fighting for freedom in Israels military occupation prisons and all political prisoners around the world fighting for justice and freedom for their people. Whilst this is an honor for the International Free Shireen Issawi Campaign, affiliated to Human Rights Defenders in Palestine, the real honor will come when Shireen is free to receive the award herself in Geneva and when all political prisoners are free from Israels military occupation prison system.” The International Free Shireen Issawi Campaign was formed in order to exert international pressure upon Israel to release Shireen Issawi and in order to increase international awareness about the issue of political prisoners in Israeli occupation jails. It is a campaign affiliated with Human Rights Defenders (HRD) in Palestine. This non-partisan initiative aims to mobilize and guide the Palestinian people in its unarmed popular resistance, and to document the violations of the Israeli occupation by peaceful means.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 19:25:04 +0000
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