NO FURTHER ACTION IS REQUESTED. MANY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT APPEALS.
On February 29, Palestinian human rights defender and social worker, Munther Amira, was released from administrative detention at Ofer Military Prison in occupied West Bank. Munther Amira has been arbitrarily detained by Israeli forces since December 18, 2023. On January 11, 2024, an Israeli military court confirmed a four-month administrative detention order against him.
On February 29, at night, human rights defender and social worker, Munther Amira, was released from administrative detention at Ofer Military Prison in occupied West Bank, and the administrative detention order against him was cancelled.
On December 18, 2023, Munther Amira, 53, was brutally arrested from his home in the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem. Israeli soldiers broke into his home, separated him from his wife, Sanaa, and children, handcuffed his children, tore off one of his sons’ clothing, and severely beat his brother. Munther Amira was initially arrested on allegations that he had published posts inciting to violence on Facebook, but the prosecution failed to offer any credible evidence to charge him and instead issued a four-month administrative detention order against him on December 31, 2023, and on January 11, 2024, an Israeli military judge rubber-stamped the order.
While Amnesty International’s researchers could not verify the authorship of the Facebook posts in question, they reviewed all posts attributed to Munther Amira and found no incitement. Designated as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International in 2018, Munther Amira was previously sentenced to six months in prison and five years of probation for participating in peaceful protests. He has also been arrested, threatened, physically assaulted, and targeted on numerous occasions for his human rights work and political activism.
In a statement shared with the Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories Team after his release, Munther Amira said, “As a freed detainee, I have witnessed firsthand the unimaginable horrors faced by my fellow Palestinians behind bars. Yet, despite these atrocities, the spirit of the Palestinian people remains unbroken, their resolve unwavering.”
Munther Amira also added that “When I was told by my lawyer in Ofer prison that Amnesty International is planning to campaign on my case, it gave me so much strength – I felt that I was not alone, that I haven’t been forgotten, that Israel’s attempts to make us disappear behind bars, to silence us, have not actually succeeded.”
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