CO Ajuad Zidan imprisoned for seventh time in a row
New Profile, 21 March 2011
Dear Friends,
CO
Ajuad Zidan was sentenced to 20 more days
of imprisonment on 21 Mar. for his refusal to
enlist. This is now his seventh term in prison.
In
our previous update on his case there was
apparently an inaccuracy, as it appears his
sixth term was shorter. He was released on March
18th. However, upon release he was again ordered
to report at the military induction base, where
he was sentenced again and returned to prison.
This cycle is likely to continue after this term
in prison too.
Ajuad Zidan is due to be released from prison on
7 April, and is likely to be imprisoned again
afterwards. His address in prison is:
Ajuad Zidan
Military ID 5810026
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-4-9540580
Since the prison authorities often block mail
from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also
recommend you to send them your letters of
support and encouragement via e-mail to:
messages2prison@newprofile.org (hitting
"reply all" to this message will send the
message to the same address), and they will be
printed out and delivered during visits.
Recommended
Action
First of all, please circulate this message and
the information contained in it as widely as
possible, not only through e-mail, but also on
websites, social networks, conventional media,
by word of mouth, etc.
Other recommendations for action:
1. Sending Letters of Support
Please send Ajuad Zidan letters of support to the prison address above and to messages2prison@newprofile.org.
2. Letters to Authorities
It is recommended to send letters of protest on the objectors' behalf, preferably by fax, to:
Mr. Ehud Barak,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
Hakirya,
Tel-Aviv 64743,
Israel.
E-mail: sar@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il
Tel.: ++972-3-6975540 or ++972-3-6975423
Fax: ++972-3-6976711
Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at:
Commander of Military Prison No. 6,
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-4-9540580
Another useful address for sending copies would
be the Military Attorney General:
Avichai Mandelblit,
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-45-26
It would be especially useful to send your
appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base
in Tel-HaShomer. It is this officer that
ultimately decides whether an objector is to be
exempted from military service or sent to
another round in prison, and it is the same
officer who is ultimately in charge of the
military Conscience Committee:
Gadi Agmon,
Commander of Induction Base,
Meitav, Tel-HaShomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52
For those of you who live outside Israel, it
would be very effective to send protests to your
local Israeli embassy. You can find the address
of your local embassy
on the web.
Here is a generic sample letter, which you can use in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners' behalf. Feel free to modify this letter or write your own:
Dear Sir/Madam,
It has come to my attention that Ajuad Zidan
from the town of Beit Jann (military ID
5810026), a conscientious objector to military
service, has been imprisoned for the seventh
time in a row for his refusal to become part of
the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison
no. 6 near Atlit.
The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such
as Ajuad Zidan is a violation of international
law, of basic human rights and of plain morals.
This is especially clear in cases, such as
Zidan's, in which conscientious objectors are
being sentenced repeatedly for their self-same
decision to refuse enlistment.
I therefore call for the immediate and
unconditional release from prison of Ajuad Zidan,
without threat of further imprisonment in the
future, and urge you and the system you are
heading to respect the dignity and person of
conscientious objectors, indeed of all persons,
in the future.
Sincerely,
3. Letters to media in Israel and in other countries
Writing op-ed pieces and letters to editors of
media in Israel and other countries could also
be quite useful in indirectly but powerfully
pressuring the military authorities to let go of
the objectors and in bringing their plight and
their cause to public attention.
Here are some contact details for the main media
outlets in Israel:
|
Ma'ariv: |
Yedioth
Aharonoth: |
Ha'aretz
(Hebrew): |
|
Ha'aretz
(English edition): |
Israel Hayom: |
Jerusalem
Post: |
|
Radio (fax
numbers): |
Television
(fax numbers): |
|
We will continue updating on further
developments.
Thank you for your attention
and action,
Sergeiy Sandler – New
Profile.
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