Please sign the new petition (dated April 2005) calling for the immediate release of Hussam Khader, and to demand that Israel respect international law and adhere to internationally-accepted legal standards to ensure a fair trial for Hussam Khader: http://www.petitiononline.com/hussam22/petition.html   

47 PARLIAMENTARIANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD CALL FOR THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF HUSSAM KHADER
 

1 - To date, the PETITION has been signed by over 580 people, including:

• Luisa Morgantini (Member of European Parliament)

• Caroline Lucas (Member of European Parliament)

• Brian Iddon (Member of Parliament, UK)

• Richard Burden (Member of Parliament, UK)

• Michael Connarty (Member of Parliament, UK)

• Lord Ahmed of Rotherham (House of Lords, Britain)

• Rt. Hon. Tony Benn (Former British Cabinet Minster and MP)

• Anne Campbell (former Member of Parliament, UK)

• Professor Noam Chomsky (USA)

• Professor Naseer Aruri (USA)

• Dr Elaine Hagopian (USA)

• Dr Uri Davis (Palestine/Israel)

• Frances Webber (UK Barrister)

• Henry Blaxland QC (UK Barrister)

• Dr Rosemary Sayyigh (Lebanon)

• Professor Paul Kessler (France)

• ADDAMEER Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association (Palestine)

• New England Committee to Defend Palestine (USA)

• Lord Ian Gilmour (House of Lords and former Cabinet Minister, UK)

• Jill Evans (Member of European Parliament)

   

2 - In addition, a STATEMENT calling for the immediate release of HUSSAM KHADER and expressing concern about the legal proceedings since his arrest and throughout his 2-year detention have violated international law and international fair trial standards, has been signed by 23 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and 8 members of the Israeli Knesset:

8 Members of the Knesset:

• Mohamad Baraka MK

• Esam Makhul MK

• Abed El-Malek Dahamseh MK

• Azmi Bishara MK

• Jamal Zahalka MK

• Ahmad Al-Tibi MK

• Talab El-Sanea MK

• Wasel Taha MK
   

23 Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council:

• Rouhee Fatouh, President of the PLC

• Hassan Khereisha, Deputy President PLC

• Kadoora Fares

• Ahmad Al-Deek

• Moufeed Abed Raboo

• Othman Gashash

• Azmi Shuaybe

• Salah El-Taamari

• Jamal El-Shoubaki

• Moawya El-Masri

• Abbas Zaki

• Dalal Salameh

• Fakhree Al-Turokman

• Hattem Abed El-Qader

• Rashad El-Kasser

• Abed El-Jawad Saleh

• Ahmad Hashem Azgayar

• Hakam Balawi

• Mahmoud Daas

• Souliman Abu Sneneh

• Daoud Al-Zeer

• Emad El-Falogi

• Emeel Gargoee

(Full copy of the STATEMENT - see section on this website ‘Recent Developments’).

3 - An additional APPEAL STATEMENT issued by Dialogue Magazine has been signed by 8 Members of Parliament from around the world:

• Louiza Hannoun, Labour Party MP, Algeria

• Alexandre Anor, Socialist Party MP, Geneva Switzerland.

• Ivan Valente, Federal MP of the Labour Party, Brazil.

• Chico Alencar, Federal MP of the Labour Party, Brazil.

• Flavio Koutzii, State MP of the Labour Party, Brazil.

• Renato Simões, State MP of the Labour Party, Brazil

• Renato Magtubo, Labour Party MP, the Philippines.

• Derek Wyatt, Labour Party MP Great Britain
  
  (Full copy of the APPEAL - see section on this website ‘Recent Developments’).
  
   

BACKGROUND TO THE CASE:

Hussam Khader is an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (the Palestinain Parliament) representing Nablus district, and is a popular Palestinian leader from the Fateh Movement. Hussam Khader has been illegally detained inside Israel by the Israeli Authorities since March 2003 and, like thousands of other Palestinian political prisoners, has been subjected to physical and psychological torture, inhumane detention conditions, and to legal proceedings that are in violation of international law, including internationally accepted legal standards for him to be guaranteed a fair trial.

International support for Hussam Khader's case, and concerns about his continued illegal detention, continue to grow:

• The World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians have both expressed concern about the illegality of the legal process in Khader’s case and his conditions of detention, the interrogation methods used, inadequate access to his lawyers and the severe restrictions on family visits - all in violation of international human rights laws. (see:

http://www.omct.org/base.cfm?page=article&num=2993&consol=close&kwrd=OMCT&cfid=1287281&cftoken=56738283 )

 

•  The Inter-Parliamentary Union (an international organization of Parliaments of sovereign States representing 130 parliaments world-wide, including the Israeli Knesset) has monitored Khader's case for 2 years. They have issued 6 resolutions expressing consistent concerns about Khader's case and the serious violations of international law in his case (see:

http://www.ipu.org/english/issues/hrdocs/176/pal04.htm   

http://www.ipu.org/english/issues/hrdocs/175/pal04.htm )

 

The IPU have a legal observer attending Khader's trial, as they did in the case of imprisoned PLC member, Marwan Barghouti. Following Barghouti's trial, the IPU's Legal Expert concluded in his report: 'numerous breaches of international law recalled in this report make it impossible to conclude that Mr. Barghouti was given a fair trial'. (see:

http://www.ipu.org/english/issues/hrdocs/174/report.htm ).

The IPU continues to monitor developments in Khader's case.

• A motion in the British House of Commons on Palestinian prisoners, tabled in December 2004, and signed by over 100 Members of Parliament, expressed concern about the thousands of prisoners in Israeli jails, and in particular the “serious legal concerns raised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in the cases of the imprisoned Palestinian Parliamentarians Marwan Barghouti and Hussam Khader”.

(See: http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=243 ).

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