Sunday, April 18, 2010

Palestinian Prisoners Day

Marwan Barghouti, possibly the best known Palestinian prisoner, celebrated his 8th year in prison last week.


 On Saturday it was Palestinian Prisoners day. Al Jazeera quoted the following figures: 

More than 7,000 Palestinians, including 270 who are under the age of 18, are currently held in Israeli prisons, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said in a statement released to coincide with Prisoners Day, which Palestinians mark on Saturday.
Three of the prisoners have been in jail for more than 30 years, and 315 for more than 15 years, PCBS said in the statement.
It is estimated that around 9,000 Palestinians are detained every year by Israel for either armed resistance or acts of civil disobedience. According to Human Rights groups, up to 700 teenagers and children were detained last year alone.
Three hundred Palestinians, who are under the age of 18, are currently held in Israeli prisons.
 6,155 prisoners are from the occupied West Bank,
 400 prisoners are from within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem,
 745 are from the Gaza Strip,
 33 of the prisoners are women,
 300 of the prisoners are under the age of 18 years,
 296 are under administrative detention
 800 of these prisoners face life imprisonment,
 570 have been sentenced for 50 years,
 460 have spent between 10-15 years of their 50-year sentences,
 110 have spent more than 20 years in prisons,
 13 have spent more than 25 years in prisons,
 3 prisoners have spent more than 30 years in prison,
 1 prisoner, Nael al-Barghouthi, has spent more than 32 years in prison,
 720 prisoners are currently serving between 10 and 50 years,
 40 prisoners have been sentenced for 20 years,
 130 prisoners have been sentenced for 15 years,
 245 prisoners have been sentenced for more than 10 years,
 325 prisoners have been in prison from before the signing of the Oslo agreement,
 555 prisoners were imprisoned prior to al-Aqsa intifada of September 2000,
 2,000 sick persons are in prison, of which
 160 have permanent medical conditions, and
 16 have fatal medical conditions including cancer,
 1 Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, is being held by Hamas.

No comments: