CPTnet
26 September 2006

BEIT UMMAR: Mayor Farhan Alqam freed

by Christina Gibb

[Note: because several people reported not receiving posts on September
26-27, we are reposting them now.]

On 12 September 2006, the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)in Hebron learned
that the mayor of Beit Ummar, Farhan Alqam, was back home after fifteen
days detention by the Israeli military (See 27 August CPTnet release, "BEIT
UMMAR: Israeli military abducts Palestinian mayor; CPT Hebron visits
family.") CPTers Christina Gibb, Cynthia Burnside and Char Smith visited
him in his office at the Beit Ummar Municipality on 13 September 2006.

The Mayor greeted them with his usual warmth. He said that during the first
few days he had received brutal treatment. He had refused to allow soldiers
to handcuff him in front of his wife. They had beaten him up in the jeep
that took him to the Gush Etzion Police Station, and a soldier had sat on
his head and shoulders inside the jeep. They kept him standing outside,
blindfolded and with tight plastic tying his hands for about three hours
until sunrise. They then kept him in isolation, unable to speak to other
detainees for the day. He compared the beating and humiliations to
conditions at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

Sixteen hours after his arrest, they took him to Ofer prison near Ramallah.
The conditions in Ofer, which houses many detainees, were poor. The food was
inadequate in quantity and quality. Lawyers have difficulty gaining access
to their clients in Ofer. Families have rare opportunities to visit, and
when they do, they must face long waits, strip searches and minimal time to
spend with their loved ones. Double plastic and mesh barriers separate
visitors and detainees.

After a week, the authorities took Alqam and other prisoners to
interrogation. They had to wait for nine hours, with no food and no access
to a toilet. Their hands were tied in front of them with painfully tight
plastic, and they were each shackled by the leg to another detainee. The
guards shouted at them often.

Alqam had only half an hour with the investigator. When he appeared before
the military court after fourteen days, he was accused of "illegal
activities" that were a threat to security. He saw the lawyer, who had been
contacted by the Beit Ummar Municipality lawyer, for only a few minutes as
they were going into court. Alqam was allowed to speak in his own defence,
and explained about his duties and responsibilities to serve his people as
Mayor, which took all his time and energy. He said he had taken part in no
illegal activities, and asked what these activities were supposed to be. The
security services would not disclose this information, but asked for a
sentence of two months imprisonment. The judge said if the mayor were
actually a threat to security, the sentence should be longer. After further
deliberation, the judge canceled the order for Alqam's detention. The
detective did not appeal this decision, and the mayor was released the next
day.