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LAW goes to High Court to appeal court decision preventing visits to Tarek Awad

2 May 2001

At the Israeli High Court today LAW Societyís lawyer Labib Habib appealed a court decision to prevent visits to Palestinian detainee Tarek Awad. 26-year-old Awad, from Ithna, Hebron, was arrested by Israeli forces on 26 April 2001 and taken for interrogation at Asqalan prison. When lawyer Labib Habib requested a visit to his client, he found that a court decision preventing Awad from receiving visits had been taken on 30 April 2001 during a discussion on whether to extend his detention in custody. By way of explanation a police representative told Habib that Awad was not allowed to receive visits from the moment of his arrest, although the official decision was only taken when the lawyer requested to see him. Habib emphasised in his appeal that to take a decision to prevent visits to a detainee during a court session about extending his detention period is illegal. LAWís lawyer also demanded better conditions in custody for Awad, since detention conditions at Asqalan are very bad, especially in the interrogation section, where minimal detention standards are not taken into consideration and detainees are held for long periods of solitary confinement in a cell with very cold air being blown inside around the clock. The cell also contains a red light which is never turned off, causing headaches and eye strain.


LAW publications and press releases since 1994 are available on our website at http://www.lawsociety.org

LAW - The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), FÈdÈration Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l'Homme (FIDH), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Member of the Euro- Mediterranean Human Rights Network.