Palestine: UN urges thorough investigation into death of hunger striker Khader Adnan in Israeli jail
By Betul Yuruk
United Nations (AA): The UN urged a ‘thorough investigation’ Tuesday into the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan.
Adnan, a prominent Islamic Jihad group figure, who became a symbol of Palestinian resistance to Israeli detention policies, died Tuesday after an 86-day hunger strike against his detention without trial or charge.
He became the symbol of the Palestinian resistance against Israeli detention policies as he took several hunger strikes in jail since 2012.
“Israeli authorities must ensure that the circumstances of his death are thoroughly investigated,” UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.
“The secretary-general reiterates his call on Israel to end the practice of administrative detention. All those held in administrative detention should be promptly charged and tried in a court of law or released without delay,” he said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday called on the Israeli authorities to release the body of Palestinian hunger striker Khader Adnan.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to release Mr. Adnan’s body, so his family can mourn and arrange a dignified burial according to their customs and beliefs,” the ICRC said in a statement.
“The ICRC stands ready to support the return of Mr. Adnan’s body, should it be asked to do so by the parties involved, in accordance with our exclusively humanitarian mandate,” it added.
The ICRC said its teams had visited the Palestinian detainee several times during his last arrest in February to monitor his condition.
There were no announcements or arrangements yet by the Israeli authorities to release Adnan’s body.
Adnan was repeatedly detained by Israeli forces and had staged multiple hunger strikes to protest his detention.
The European Union also called on Israeli authorities to investigate the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, an EU official said on Tuesday.
“The European Union has engaged with Israeli authorities on the case of Mr. Adnan, including the Ministry of Health, to inquire the Israeli state about his condition, ”Peter Stano, the European Commission’s lead spokesperson on foreign affairs, told reporters.
He stressed that Adnan died protesting his “indictment of incitement and affiliation with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is a terror organization.”
The EU calls for a “transparent investigation on the circumstances that led to his death,” Stano said.
He reiterated the EU’s general position demanding all countries respect international human rights obligation towards prisoners.
Stano also underlined that the EU urges all parties “to prevent escalation in an already volatile situation” following “the calls for retaliation by Palestinian armed groups.”
The 44-year-old, from the town of Arraba, west of Jenin, started his hunger strike on Feb. 5 to protest his detention by the Israeli authorities.
According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society NGO, an Israeli military court last month rejected a request by Adnan’s lawyer to release him on bail while he was on the 78th day of his hunger strike.
In 2012, Adnan staged a 66-day hunger strike in protest of his detention, forcing the Israeli authorities to release him. He staged similar hunger strikes in 2015 and 2018.
[Photo: Palestinians demonstrate in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) building in Gaza City, on death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnanwho in Israeli prison affter an 87 day hunger strike on May 02, 2023. Photojournalist : Ali Jadallah/AA]
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