Teacher held without charge finally released in Occupied Palestinian Territories

West Bank secondary-school teacher Khaled Hussein ‘Abd al-Karim Jaradat was released last month, after serving more than two years in prison without charge or trial.
 

Israeli authorities claimed that the father of two was an Islamic Jihad activist, despite his well-known work on charitable campaigning activities in his hometown.No evidence to support the allegations was offered, so Khaled Jaradat and his lawyer had no way to challenge his detention in court when he was arrested in March 2008.The English teacher had already been detained several times before, most recently from August 1998 to May 2001, after which he was ordered not to leave his village, Silat al-Harthiya, for a year. His children have grown up without the regular presence of their father, while his wife, Um Hadi, was unable to visit him for long periods of time.He has since been reunited with his family after his release on 15 July, and is said to be in good health.According to Khaled however, he was not allowed any family visits or any phone calls in jail for the last four months of his imprisonment.

Letter-writing appeal

“I undoubtedly appreciate the work and effort of Amnesty International members to secure my release,” he said in the days following his release.“I have received many letters. I can’t remember the names of all those who wrote to me but they all told me they were writing to the Israelis to release me. “There is no doubt that the pressure caused by Amnesty International has led to my release. I thank you for that and I hope you continue working on other cases until they are released as well.”Amnesty International urges the Israeli government to provide fair trials for all prisoners or to release them, and to allow access to relatives, doctors and lawyers in all cases.

For more information on Amnesty International’s work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories: