Saed Bassam Fathallah Yassin, a 34-year-old human rights defender from Nablus, is married with three children. He has been held under administrative detention in Ketziot prison in Israel since 15 October 2006. His wife has been permitted to visit him only twice, and his children permitted to visit him only three times, since this date. Saed Yassin’s last administrative detention order has extended his detention until 15 May 2007.

Yassin was first issued with a six month administrative detention order which was reduced on appeal to two months. When it expired in November 2006, he was issued with a second administrative detention order of four months, which was renewed on expiry for a further six months. Yassin's administrative detention order was last renewed on 15 November for another 6 months.

Prior to becoming an administrative detainee, Saed Yassin was arrested on 6 March 2006 and later sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment and 24 months’ probation as part of a plea bargain, on charges of channelling funds in an illegal manner.

On completion of his sentence, Saed Yassin was not released and remained behind bars under consecutive administrative detention orders. The charges for which he was sentenced and his continuing detention are believed to be connected with his work at the Ansar al-Sajeen (Prisoners’ Friends Association) NGO where he was the Director of the northern West Bank branch in Nablus. Ansar al-Sajeen was established in 1980 to provide solidarity and practical assistance to Palestinians political prisoners in the Occupied PalestinianTerritories and Israel. This organisation was outlawed and its offices in the West Bank and northern Israel closed in September 2006 upon order of the Israeli Minister of Defence.

Appeal Case: Nura Muhammad Shukri Jaber al-Hashlamon

Nura Muhammad Shukri Jaber al-Hashlamon © private

Nura Muhammad Shukri Jaber al-Hashlamon is a 36-year-old housewife who has been held under administrative detention in Israel since September 2006. She has six children at home aged between 3 and 14 years. The children have been able to visit their mother only five times since her arrest, the last time being in September 2007. Nura’s last detention order has extended her detention until 16 December 2007.

Her husband, Muhammad Sami Abdel Mu’eti Ayoub al-Hashlamon, is also an administrative detainee currently held in Megiddo prison. He is 35 years old. He was arrested on 25th September 2005 and has been in administrative detention ever since. His last administrative detention order was issued on 25th June 2007 for six months.

Nura al-Hashlamon’s husband was given permission by the Israeli authorities to visit his wife in Hasharon Women’s prison, which he did in November 2006. Following this visit, they both submitted another request to the relevant prison administrations which was granted. However, on 18 February 2007, when Muhammad was taken to visit his wife in Hasharon Women’s prison, he was told that the visit was not possible and returned to Megiddo prison. They have not been permitted to see each other since.

Nura al-Hashlamon was arrested from her home in Hebron on the night of 16 September 2006. She was taken to a settlement near Hebron and the next morning to Hasharon Women’s prison. She was been transferred for interrogation several times to Ofer prison and questioned about her relationship with affiliates of Islamic Jihad, as well as her brother, who is also in prison. One week after her arrest, Nura al-Hashlamon was issued with a six-month administrative detention order, later reduced to five months on judicial review and then three months on appeal. It has been renewed every three months for a period of three months since then. It is entirely possible that on expiry of her current administrative detention order, Nura al-Hashlamon will simply be issued another.