Khader Adan

            

Administrative detention is a procedure under which detainees are held without charge or trial for periods of up to six months, which can be renewed repeatedly. Under administrative detention, detainees' rights to a fair trial as guaranteed by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are consistently violated.

Khader Adan is a 33-year-old Palestinian baker who has been held by Israeli authorities since a raid on his home on December 17^th of last year due to his alleged affiliation with the Islamic Jihad movement.  Adan’s situation is of particular note because he has been on a hunger strike for more than 10 weeks which was begun to protest the treatment he had received at the hands of the ISA (Israel Security Agency), the conditions of his detention and on a larger scale Israel’s policy of administrative detention.

            According to an article attributed to Amnesty International on the Palestinian News Network, Adan has been scheduled for release on April 17^th.  However, due to
 the deteriorating condition of Adan’s health after his 66 days of deprivation, Amnesty International is calling for his immediate release so that the man can receive urgently needed medical treatment that they claim is needed to save his life. Shackled to his bed at Ziv Hospital in northern Israel under armed guard, it is said by Israeli authorities that Adan constitutes a security threat.

            It has been reported that Adan has agreed to end his hunger strike but Amnesty International was unable to verify this independently according to the article.  Adan’s appeal was to go before the Israeli Supreme Court but this was cancelled because Adan’s attorney had reportedly reached an agreement with Israeli authorities for his release on April 17^th. Despite this agreement, Amnesty International wishes for Adan to be immediately released along with all other Palestinians who are being held in administrative  detention and have not been “charged with recognizable criminal offences”, and who can be “tried in accordance with international fair trial standards” said Phillip Luther, Amnesty International’s Interim Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

           
     While this article appears in a Palestinian news source, it mirrors the piece on Amnesty International’s own website regarding this situation so the positions and statements in it clearly come from Amnesty and do not seem to have been manipulated or altered to show any pro-Palestinian bias.  There is no author listed for the piece, merely that it is from Amnesty International originally.   According to their website, Amnesty International is "a global movement of members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights". It is an organization that is "independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion".  It is apparent from the article that this is the case as it address the issue of Khader Adan primarily from a humanitarian viewpoint, without calling into question his alleged association with Islamic Jihad, a known terrorist organization.  While the organization does call for an end to the practice of administrative detention, this does not indicate that they are Pro-Palestinian in their views as they have protested similar tactics by other governments.

            The article also mentions the group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel which is a non-government organization that has been monitoring Adan’s condition.  On this groups website the page “The Case of Khader Adan” confirms the basic facts of the Amnesty story and goes on to say that that he was tortured and subjected to cruel and degrading treatment during his arrest and interrogation.  This group is also critical of the practice of administrative detention practiced in Israel and the world over.  The branch of the group mentioned- Physicians for Human Rights-Israel is comprised of both Jewish and Palestinian doctors  which may lead one to believe that the group is not biased towards one group in particular but it is stated on the website that the group opposes the occupation which may cast them in a Pro-Palestinian light.

                                                           Khader Adan

      The focus of this article is the treatment of Khader Adan and the issue of administrative detention. The article does not address the question of why Adan was detained in the first place. According to articles in Haaretz, Adan is not just associated with Islamic Jihad but a leader and a spokesman for the group.  Another article makes mention of a You Tube video purportedly showing Adan with a megaphone recruiting suicide bombers.  The Palestinian News piece does not address any of this but instead deals only with the health and treatment of Khader Adan and the policy of administrative detention. Israeli authorities are not quoted in the piece and the Israeli version of events, such as circumstances of Adan's capture and his past history are not a part of the story.

             Because of this, this piece only gives a partial picture of the situation and seems to play more on emotions than complete facts. It would seem that while this article gives a fairly reliable account of certain aspects of Khader Adan's situation, there is a great deal more to this story than what is addressed in the Amnesty International article presented by the Palestinian News Network.