Detainees Commission to Boycott Israeli Military Courts in Support of al-Qiq

Lawyers representing the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs’ Commission, Tuesday decided to boycott Israeli military courts of Ofer  and Salem, in solidarity with hunger striker detainee, Journalist Mohammed al-Qiq.

The commission, in a press statement, said this boycott, which would take place on Wednesday and Thursday, aims to exert pressure on the Israeli military prosecution, after all legal efforts and negotiations concerning al-Qiq’s issue, have failed.

Al-Qiq is one of 6,800 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including 660 administrative detainees and 18 journalists; many of them have been subjected to torture, noted the Office of Palestinian premier, Rami Hamdallah, in a Monday press statement

Director of Strategic Communications & Media at the Prime Minister's Office, Jamal Dajani, assured that "Both Prime Minister Hamdallah and President Abbas have made it one of their top priorities to secure the release of al-Qiq along with the many Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails."

"Al-Qiq's arrest and subsequent detention without trial only highlight Israel's draconian measures against Palestinians," he Dajani.

“Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, demanded the immediate release of al-Qiq whose health has deteriorated rapidly.”

The 33-year-old journalist and father of two is reportedly on the verge of organ failure after refraining from taking any nutritional supplements and salt, relaying on water only, since the beginning of his 91-day long successive hunger strike.

Al-Qiq was working as a correspondent for Saudi Arabia's Almajd television network when he was arrested at his West Bank home in Ramallah on November 21, the statement explained.

Source: WAFA