On April 9, Israeli police and Shabak forces stormed the home of Raja Eghbarieh in Umm el-Fahm, confiscated personal equipment, and took Eghbarieh to the Jalameh (Kishon) detention center.
As a leading figure in Abnaa el-Balad, the Left Palestinian movement, since the 1980s, Eghbarieh, now 73, is not new to political persecution. His family and comrades are very concerned that, considering his age and fragile health, he might not survive another period in the Israeli occupation’s prisons, where torture and abuse of all types are widely and indiscriminately used.
On April 15, Israel’s “Defense” minister, Israel Katz, signed an administrative detention order for 4 months against Eghbarieh. According to this order, Eghbarieh was transferred to the Megiddo prison, which is notorious for violent repression that caused the death of several imprisoned Palestinian detainees. On April 17, the head of the Haifa district court started a review (beyond closed doors) of the administrative detention order and postponed its confirmation to April 22. …..more
