OPT/Israel: Palestinian writer and activist Ahed Tamimi detained amid surge in arbitrary arrests by Israeli forces
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09 November: PEN International condemns the arrest of writer and prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi by Israeli forces on 6 November 2023. Tamimi is currently being held in incommunicado detention. PEN International is concerned for her safety and well-being amid several reports of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including the death in custody of at least two Palestinian prisoners since 7 October.
PEN International urges the Israeli authorities to disclose Tamimi’s whereabouts, to release her immediately and unconditionally, and end their use of arbitrary detention of Palestinians. Pending her release, Tamimi must be granted regular access to her family and lawyers of her choosing.
On 6 November, a dozen Israeli soldiers stormed the house of Palestinian writer and prominent activist Ahed Tamimi’s in Nabi Saleh, occupied West Bank, handcuffed her and took her to an undisclosed location. Her family told PEN International that her mother, Nariman Tamimi, was taken by soldiers to another room during the raid, yet heard Tamimi scream through the walls, raising concerns that she had been assaulted. A soldier reportedly threatened that Tamimi’s mother her and her sons would be next. According to media reports, the Israeli army arrested Tamimi on suspicion of ‘inciting violence and terrorist activities’ on social media.
Her family recounted that in the days leading to her arrest, Tamimi had been the target of an online smear campaign by Israeli settlers, who accused her of inciting terrorism and the killing of settlers on social media. According to media reports, Tamimi’s was arrested for allegedly writing on Instagram that Palestinians would ‘slaughter’ settlers and ‘drink [their] blood.’ The family dismissed these allegations, explaining that her social media account had been hacked – a regular occurrence for Tamimi.
Nariman Tamimi told PEN International: “we were expecting that they [Israeli army] would come for Ahed following the settlers’ online campaign against her […] She was dressed up, and when they stormed the house, she rushed and hugged me, saying, don’t be afraid and don’t worry. I am strong, and you too, be strong.”
Tamimi is currently being held in incommunicado detention, without access to her family or lawyer. The Israeli army denied her family’s request to disclose her whereabouts, though it is believed she might be held at Damun Prison.
On 29 October, Bassem Tamimi, Tamimi’s father, was arrested on his way to Jordan and taken to an undisclosed location. On 8 November, his family learned that an Israeli court had ordered his administrative detention for six months without charges or allowing him to communicate with his family or lawyer.
Background
Ahed Tamimi is a prominent Palestinian activist and the co-author of They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom, in which she reflects on her personal experience and the daily struggles of life under Israeli occupation. She was arrested in December 2017, at the age of 17, following a video of her altercation with Israeli soldiers. She was later sentenced to eight months in prison over charges, including “aggravated assault.”
Since 7 October, several human rights groups, including Amnesty International, reported a surge in the use of administrative detention of Palestinians living in the West Bank, with at least 2,200 people arbitrarily arrested, and many experiencing torture and ill-treatment in detention. Earlier in November, the UN OCHA raised concerns about the rising levels of violence, threats and the enforced displacement of Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
The recent crackdown comes in the context of increasing violence against Palestinians amid alarming settlement expansion in recent years. UN experts, as well as Israeli and International human rights organisations have warned against the apartheid system Palestinians have been subjected to for decades. According to UN experts, last year was the deadliest year in the occupied West Bank since the United Nations started systematically documenting fatalities in 2005, with at least 150 Palestinians killed, including 33 children. In 2023, Israeli forces killed at least 38 children in the occupied West Bank, marking the deadliest year ever for children.
For more information, please contact Mina Thabet, Head of the MENA Region, at PEN International : Mina.Thabet@pen-international.org
