Jamal Farag, a 40-year old Palestinian journalist currently being held without trial in Israeli detention, has
declared an open hunger strike in the Israeli Al Naqab (Negev) Prison.
He is a diabetic, causing great concern for his life during this strike.
Farag is protesting the Israeli administration's decision to isolate him in solitary confinement for two months. The journalist is prohibited from mixing with the rest of his colleagues, or to listen to the radio, watch television, or read newspapers or magazines.
The journalist is entirely disconnected from the outside world, causing him to begin this life-threatening nonviolent protest. His colleagues are appealing to human rights organizations to intervene on his behalf in order to save his life, which is thought to be in serious condition.
The Israeli prison administration claimed that it did not know of Farag's condition and that the journalist “incited prisoners against the prison administration and caused chaos.”
The Palestinian Prisoner Society denounced the Israeli actions taken against Farag calling for his immediate release as he was not convicted on any charge. He is being held under Administrative Detention, meaning without charge or trial. He was sentenced to two years and three months in prison without ever being tried after Israeli forces arrested him at a checkpoint in the eastern West Bank's Jericho.
Farag is a resident of Bethlehem's Deheisha Refugee Camp and a member of the Palestinian Journalists Union.
