It's time to end the anonymity of Palestinian political prisoners

March 28, 2011 Middle East Monitor

Nelson Mandela and Aung Suu Kyi are known worldwide as prisoners of conscience who have spent lengthy periods in prison for standing up for their beliefs. South African political prisoner and later President Mandela spent 27 years in prison, many of them in solitary confinement; Aung San Suu Kyi, a political prisoner in Burma, spent almost 15 years under house arrest. Their time imprisoned was well publicised over the years and an international movement of supporters campaigned endlessly for their release.

In stark contrast, there is near silence from the international community on the 133 Palestinian political prisoners who have been held in Israeli jails for two decades or more. They have endured unjust trials and harsh prison conditions; they receive inadequate medical and psychological care, and many are in solitary confinement. Most of these prisoners were detained as young boys and young men and have reached their late 30s and 40s having spent their entire adult life in prison, with little or no contact with their loved ones and the outside world.

The Middle East Monitor will be profiling 25 of these Palestinian prisoners over the coming weeks, bringing an end to their anonymity and highlighting the injustices that these men and their families face at the hands of the state of Israel.

Wael Salih al Barghuthi - Imprisoned 4-4-1978 - View Profile
Fakhri Asfour al Barghuthi - Imprisoned 23-6-1978
Akram Mansour - Imprisoned 2-8-1979
Fuad Qasim al Razim - Imprisoned 30-1-1981
Ibrahim Jabir - Imprisoned 8-1-1982
Hasan Salameh - Imprisoned 8-8-1982
Uthman Musleh - Imprisoned 15-10-1982
Sami Yunus - Imprisoned 1983
Karim Yunus - Imprisoned 1983
Maher Yunus - Imprisoned 1983
Saleem Ali al Kayal - Imprisoned 30-5-1983
Hafiz Qundus - Imprisoned 15-5-1984
Eesa Abdu Rabbu - Imprisoned 20-10-1984
Ahmad Fareed Shahadeh - Imprisoned 16-2-1985
Muhammad Nasr - Imprisoned 11-5-1985
Rafe' Karajeh - Imprisoned 20-5-1985
Talal Abu al Kabash - Imprisoned 23-6-1985
Mustafa Ghunaymat - Imprisoned 27-6-1985
Ziyad Ghunaymat - Imprisoned 27-6-1985
Uthman Abdullah Bani Husayn - Imprisoned 27-7-1985
Haza' Muhammad Haza' Sa'adi - Imprisoned 28-7-1985
Siddqui Sulayman Ahmad al Maqt - Imprisoned 23-8-1985
Hani Badawi Muhammad Jaabir - Imprisoned 3-9-1985
Muhammad Ahmad Abdul Hameed al Tous - Imprisoned 6-10-1985
Nafiz Ahmad Talib Harz - Imprisoned 25-11-1985
Fa'iz Mutawi' al Khour - Imprisoned 29-11-1985
Ghazi Jumu'ah al Nams - Imprisoned 30-11-1985
Muhammad Misbah Ashour - Imprisoned 18-2-1986
Ahmad Abdur Rahman Abu Hasireh - Imprisoned 18-2-1986
Muhammad Abdul Hadi al Hassani - Imprisoned 4-3-1986