Administrative detention is a suppressive Israeli policy used to intimidate Palestinians by holding them in prison without charge or trial.
Administrative detainees are unable to challenge the charges against them, which they and even their lawyers are not allowed to see.
This is used against activists who stand up against Israeli occupation including university students, lawyers, journalists and academics.
In 2022 there were over 600 administrative detainees in Israeli prisons.
A deeper dive.
Administrative detention is when Israeli Occupation Forces arrest Palestinians and hold them indefinitely, without charge or trial. This violates international law, but Israel still uses it to target activists who stand up against its illegal occupation of Palestine.
Israel has a long history of using administrative detention to oppress Palestinians who resist its apartheid regime. Every single month since 2002 there have been over 100 Palestinians in administrative detention. As of December 2022 there were 820 Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli prisons.
Israel holds Palestinians without charge or trial for months or even years. Administrative detainees are subjected to arbitrary beatings, solitary confinement, limited family visits and medical negligence.
Amnesty International has described Israel’s use of administrative detention as a “cruel, unjust practice which helps maintain Israel’s system of apartheid against Palestinians.”
Palestinians have repeatedly used hunger strikes to draw the world’s attention to Israel’s cruel policy. In 2022 Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh went on hunger strike for over 170 days. In October 2022 another 50 Palestinian prisoners went on hunger strike in protest.
Israel’s use of administrative detention (AD) violates international law. Join #TeamFOA today to help #StopAdministrativeDetention.
