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Summary HRW called on Israel to charge or release a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike.
An international NGO on Saturday called on Israel to immediately charge or release a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for the past 56 days.Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Israel should immediately end its unlawful administrative detention of Khader Adnan, who has refused food since December 18, and charge or release him.Adnan, who was arrested near the northern West Bank city of Jenin on December 17, had served as a spokesman for Islamic Jihad, but Israel has not charged him formally or revealed any evidence against him.His hunger strike, longer than any Palestinian prisoner before him, according to Palestinian officials, is in protest over what he calls his unjust detention and mistreatment by Israeli authorities.On Saturday, hundreds of Palestinians held a protest outside the Ofer prison in the West Bank in solidarity with Adnan and hurled rocks at security forces, an Israeli military spokesman said.The security forces used riot dispersal methods, and activists said 16 protesters were wounded by rubber bullets and tear gas.In addition, two Israelis and two Palestinians were arrested in a separate rally for Adnan in the West Bank village of Beit Omar, the military and activists said.Last month, a military court ordered that Adnan be held in administrative detention for four months, although with his condition frail and worsening, he has been held mostly in a string of Israeli hospitals since early January.Under Israeli military law, a court can order an individual held for up to six months at a time without charge, although the order can be appealed.
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