West Bank: Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar faces slow death in Israeli solitary confinement; effective and immediate action needed

 29 Aug 2024

Palestinian Territory – To compel Israel to stop the slow and deliberate killing of Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar, who has been in Israeli solitary confinement for 17 days, the Working Group on arbitrary detention and UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Al-Salem, must take effective and immediate action. They must demand her immediate release and an end to Israel’s use of arbitrary detention, including administrative detention, against Palestinians.

In an urgent letter to the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has detailed the conditions of Jarrar’s arbitrary detention and cruel solitary confinement in an Israeli prison intended for female criminal detainees. The letter also includes a complaint received by Euro-Med Monitor from Jarrar’s husband, Ghassan Jarrar.

In the complaint that he sent to the Euro-Med Monitor team, Ghassan Jarrar said that the Israeli Prison Service has been isolating his wife in solitary confinement in Neve Terzia Prison for 17 days in harsh conditions. According to the complaint, the human rights activist, who has been in administrative detention for over eight months, was placed in isolation for unknown reasons, as there was no legal basis for her to be removed from the prison where she was being held. Additionally, Israeli authorities did not notify her when she was being moved to the new prison; it became evident to her, however, that she was placed in solitary confinement in a prison meant for female offenders, Neve Terzia.

Ghassan Jarrar clarified that his wife is being held in a 2.5 by 1.5-metre cell, with only a concrete bench to sleep on and an open toilet without a curtain. He said that the Israeli prison authorities have cut off the water to the toilet and are delaying the delivery of food to his wife, even though she needs to eat on a regular basis as she takes five different types of medication for blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol.

He emphasised that the most serious problems facing his wife are the actual lack of oxygen in the cell; that she is not even allowed to go outside for “recreation”; that the water to the toilet is cut off; that the temperatures are abnormally high; and that the purposeful delay of food are all “conditions of killing, not isolation”. “Do they want to kill Khalida this way?” Jarrar questioned. Despite her critical health condition, no one answers her calls when she urgently needs anything, with “four hours [going] by before anyone answers”.

Jarrar cited his wife’s words to her attorney, summarising her suffering as follows:

“I die every day. The cell looks like a tiny, airtight box. The cell is equipped with a toilet and a small window above it, which was closed a day after I was moved to it. They did not leave me any space to breathe. Even the so-called porthole in the cell door was closed. I spend most of my time sitting next to a tiny opening that allows me to breathe. I wait for the hours to pass while I suffocate in my cell in hopes of finding oxygen molecules to breathe and survive.”

She added: “The high temperatures make my isolation even more tragic. Put simply, I am inside a very hot oven. The heat has made it impossible for me to sleep. Not only did they put me in this situation alone, but they also purposefully turned off the water in the cell. It [initially] took them at least four hours to bring me a bottle of water. After eight days of confinement, I was allowed to leave the cell once, to go to the prison yard. Additionally, they purposely postpone the awful dinner for hours.”

Israeli army forces arrested Khalida Jarrar on 26 December 2023 from her home in Ramallah, in the central occupied West Bank, and placed her in administrative detention. Since then, she had been detained in Damon Prison with other female inmates without being charged or given a chance to defend herself, until she was recently moved to solitary confinement.

Khalid Jarrar is an ex-prisoner who served five years in Israeli jails. She is a human rights and feminist activist and a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

More than 9,000 Palestinian detainees are currently suffering from arbitrary arrests, harsh and degrading detention conditions, brutal torture, and punitive and retaliatory measures, including starvation and solitary confinement—violations which have seriously intensified since the start of Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023.

About 260 Palestinian prisoners and detainees have been killed in Israeli prisons and detention facilities since 1967. This figure does not include the dozens of Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip who have been killed since last October. The exact numbers and identities of most of these individuals remain unknown.

One of the primary methods employed by Israel to maintain its apartheid regime against the Palestinian people is administrative detention. This is done in order to subject the Palestinian people to oppression and destruction, destroying their families and communities, and depriving them of their fundamental rights,, which include the freedom of speech and assembly, immunity from arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial, and protection from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

The infliction of intentional harm and severe psychological suffering resulting from prolonged solitary confinement constitutes a form of torture that is absolutely prohibited by international law. Indefinite solitary confinement and prolonged solitary confinement, i.e. confinement lasting longer than 15 consecutive days, are prohibited by the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), which classify prolonged solitary confinement as torture and ill-treatment.

Israel bears complete responsibility for Khalida Jarrar’s life and well-being, and must end her solitary confinement and immediately release her. The international community must assume its legal responsibilities and act swiftly and forcefully to compel Israel to immediately cease its use of arbitrary detentions, including administrative detentions, against Palestinians. This will help put an end to Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid regime against the Palestinian people, guarantee the full realisation of their right to self-determination, and ensure that Israel is held accountable for its crimes against them.