73 Female Palestinian Prisoners Still Inside Israeli Jails

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, August 18 (IslamOnline.net) - There are still 73 female Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails, including 11 girls, and none of them has been included in the release of some 350 prisoners on August 6, the Palestinian ministry of prisoners’ affairs said on Sunday, August 17.

"The female Palestinian prisoners in Al-Ramla prison are imprisoned under appalling conditions, while some of them are jailed without trial or a specific charge and some others are arrested as a bargaining chip on their husbands and relatives," the ministry said in a statement a copy of which was faxed to IslamOnline.net.

Citing first-hands information given by ministry’s solicitors, the statement said the Israeli prison authorities are exercising considerable pressure on the prisoners, warning that their conditions were getting from bad to worse.

The missive also spoke about the moments of horror, the assault and battery, swear words, blackmails, sleep and food deprivation and shortage of clothes and solitary confinements.

Sanaa Amr, 17, is one of the prisoners inside the walls of Al-Ramal prison, who has been accused by Israeli authorities of attempting to stab a Jewish settler.

She underwent a five-hour investigation in a police station in the settlement of Kiriyat Arba and was then transferred to a nearby Israeli army base, where she spent four days.

She was deprived of water and food and forced to sit unmoved and handcuffed on one chair all along. Afterwards, she was transferred to Al-Ramla women prison.

Wigdan Bouga, 25, was rounded up in February 2002 for carrying a knife in her handbag. She spent 20 days in Al-Maskoubiya police station in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem). She was then transferred to Al-Ramla and sentenced to 32 months in prison.

The last time Bouga spoke to her mother was on November 2002.

Riham Al-Sheikh, 16, was injured by Israeli troops who were trying to arrest her. She was taken to Maier hospital in Kfar Saba, where she spent a month handcuffed and shackled.

Haiam Wedan, 31, was apprehended in April 2002 in Kfar Saba. She was transferred to Abu Kabier prison where she spent 35 days. Israeli troops tried to extract a confession from her for crimes she did not commit, threatening that they would arrest her sister if she did not confess.

Zohour Abud Hemdan, 42, a mother of nine children, was arrested in May 2003, while she was offering her condolences for her brother for the death of his son.

She was taken to custody in Kadmoumim military camp and spent two days there without questioning. She was then transferred to Al-Ramla prison and would stand trial in October 2003.

Since her arrest, she never heard from her ailing husband or children. Her sister is also detained in the same prison on an administrative basis (without trial or charges).

As for the newly engaged Warda Bakrawi, 25, she was rounded up in an Israeli pre-dawn sweep in October 2002. She was taken along with her father into custody. She was deprived of going to the bathroom for six days and was exposed to cold air. Following her questioning, she was detained for 34 days and battered by Israeli Jailers