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SHEIKH ABDEL KARIM OBEID
(SHEIKH ABDULKAREEM OBAID)
WHERE IS
MY FATHER?
She
was three months old when her father, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid
was abducted from their home in South Lebanon by Israeli commandos.
Fourteen years later Mujahidah still waits, hoping that her father
will come home...
On 28 July 1989, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid was kidnapped from
his house in the village of Jibchit in Southern Lebanon. At 2.00
am Israeli commandos staged a well-planned kidnapping performed
by over 30 men which took no more than seven minutes. Sheikh Obeid’s
wife, Umm Sajed was tied and beaten up whilst his son Sajed, aged
seven was threatened with a gun. A neighbour, Hussain Abu Zaid
was killed as Sheikh Obeid and two others, a cousin Ahmed Obeid
and friend Ashem Fahs were taken away. Throughout the entire kidnapping,
Israeli fighter planes carried out a mock air raid over the village
to hide the sound of the helicopters used to take Sheikh Obeid
to “Israel”.
Sheikh Obeid’s “crime” was being an outspoken
opponent of Israel’s occupation of Southern Lebanon. He was
a well-known preacher and represented the views of the Lebanese
people.
Sheikh Obeid has been held captive by the Israeli Defence Force,
without charge and denied access to friends, family, and lawyers
since July 1989. He and Mustafa Dirani, a disabled Lebanese national
from the Bekaa valley, who was kidnapped in 1994, are being held
on the pretext of gaining more information about an Israeli airforce
navigator, Ron Arad, who was shot down during a bombing raid over
Lebanon in 1986.
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Photos of Sheikh Obeid taken before his kidnapping (left)
and after several years of captivity in Israeli Sarafan
prison (right). Not only has he been tortured but remains
in solitary confinement. For more information on the conditions
detainees face in Israeli prisons please see the photo-account
on Khiam Prison.
A former detainee of Sarafan has described it as "worse
than Khiam". Sheikh Obeid is not alone - there are
nearly two thousand Muslim and other abductees held by Israel
in the same manner.
The Campaign to Free Sheikh Obeid has been in existence
for some seven years and is run by the Islamic Human Rights
Commission. The Islamic Human Rights Commission Rights calls
for the unconditional release of Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa
Dirani. There should be an immediate end to their hostage-status
and the trial of those persons responsible for the acts
of hostage-taking.
* Alternate spellings for Sheikh Abdel
Karim Obeid: Shaikh 'Abd al-Karim 'Ubayd, Sheik Obeid, Sheikh
Abdulkareem Obaid, Sheikh Abdul Karim ‘Ubayd
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Contents
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Vigil
to mark the 14th anniversary of the abduction of
Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid
London,
28 July 2003
The Islamic Human Rights Commission held a vigil outside
the Israeli Embassy on Monday 28th July 2003 to mark the
fourteenth anniversary of the kidnapping of Sheikh Abdel
Karim Obeid. from Lebanon, by Israeli commandos.
The vigil was held at the junction of Kensington High Street
and Palace Green. The Israeli embassy is across the road
at No 2 Palace Green, which was cordoned off by the police.
Leaflets asking people to telephone, fax, and email the
Israeli embassy in London demanding the immediate release
of Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani were handed out. The
reverse side featured the Boycott
Israel Campaign leaflet listing the companies and brands
supporting Israel that should be boycotted.
The public were supportive of the vigil, often stopping
to chat, to find out more and to show their solidarity.
One passer by asked "Which country is holding her
father?" pointing to the photo of Mujahidah on the
leaflet. "Israel is holding him - 14 years now without
charge". With a look of disgust, she retorted "Israel!
Why doesn't that surprise me! So whats new?". The PR
manufactured myth of victim Israel shrouded in a halo of
holocaust untouchability has long shattered and ordinary
people in the west now readily equate zionism with nazism
and apartheid - something which has no place in a civilised
word.
Placard reads "Free Sheikh Obaid - Hostage for 14
years." For many in the west "hostages" means
the western hostages - Terry Waite, John McCarthy, etc who
have all been released long ago - they dont realise that
it was Israel that started the cycle of hostage taking in
the middle-east and it is Israel that till today still holds
hostages. In 2002 it even passed a law to specifically allow
it to hold hostages "legally"- under Israeli law!
Israel's crime in abducting a man from his family and caging
him with out charge for 14 years in complete breach of international
law mustn't be looked at as a solitary incident - Israel's
whole history is one of arrogance and devoid of any morality.
The crimes committed in Lebanon cannot be separated from
the ongoing crimes being committed today in occupied Palestine.
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This article was first published in 1997
- nearly 8 years after the kidnapping of Sheikh Obeid.
Lebanon's
Forgotten Hostage
Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid (May 29 2000)
1 July
1997
by Arzu Merali
Director of Research
Islamic Human Rights Commission
Sajed is 15 years old. Like many boys, he wants to be like
his father. An architect and Muslim cleric, Abdulkareem Obaid
is also one of dozens of hostages abducted from South Lebanon
by Israel. This month sees the eighth anniversary of his kidnap,
by Israeli commandos from his home in the South Lebanese village
of Jibchit, where he was the preacher.
Sitting in a modest, Beirut flat flooded with orange light
from a setting spring sun, Sajed is explaining to a Belgian
film crew, in fluent French, the events of the night of 28th
July 1989, which took his father away from him and his four
siblings. He has inherited his father's eloquence, which some
of us vaguely remember from TV documentaries of the late 1980's
about the nightmare that was Lebanon. Obaid was vocal in his
opposition to the so-called Israeli security zone in the South
of Lebanon which exists till today. By the time he was assaulted
and removed to Israel, he had become a well-known and well-liked
spokesperson for the Lebanese people. I remembered Obaid's
audacious smile, as Sajed told of how he would one day follow
in his father's footsteps.
It was just as Sajed had told reporters from the Washington
Post eight years ago, how at 2 o'clock in the morning, his
mother was beaten and tied up, and how he was threatened with
a gun, as his father, and two others were dragged away semi-conscious.
Umm Sajed, Obaid's wife, recounted to me in meticulous detail,
how the Israeli operation was well-planned, and executed at
a frightening speed. The commandos knew the house's layout
- the operation could have been maybe no more than seven minutes.
There were two entrances to the house, one for men and one
for women. The Sheikh, as she respectfully refers to her husband,
was asleep in the section that led from the women's entrance.
Around thirty men entered the house while others surrounded
it. When she heard firing, she thought they had killed her
husband. In fact it was a neighbour, Hussain Abu Zaid, who
had come out of his house to see what the noise was, that
had been shot dead as the commandos retreated. Later, the
Israelis in triumph at their capture, admitted to Western
press that Israeli fighter planes had enacted a mock raid
over the area, masking the sound of the helicopters that came
for Obaid. Israeli press report the abduction in those terms.
Hassan Al-Mujtabah (centre right) was two
years old and Mujahidah (centre left) just 3 months old
when their father was kidnapped. In his absense, their brother
Sajed (right) who is only 15 himself shoulders the role
of father to them.
The guns of Lebanon's civil war have been quiet for several
years, but with threats of being bombed not only in the south,
but all the way to Beirut looming since last year's 'Operation
Grapes of Wrath,' what everyone fears but no-one says outright
is that Lebanon is simply sleeping between carnage. In the
meantime, international shopping bonanzas and selective rebuilding
programmes are putting Lebanon back on the map as a cultural
magnet in the region. Old hostilities between communities
seem miraculously buried, or at least well-policed by the
Syrian troops stationed to keep the peace. Obaid's plight
and that of other hostages and abductees from Lebanon remains
largely forgotten or unheard of. Jill Morrell's campaign through
The Friends of John Macarthy made sure that the British journalist's
disappearance was commemorated every hundred days. In contrast
the convergence of myself and the film crew on the Obaid's
home was exceptional. Few outside Lebanon and Israel recall
Sheikh Obaid. Today Lebanon, and particularly Beirut is booming
economically and culturally: for the former, Obaid has become
another icon of territorial violation in the South, to the
Israelis he is a bargaining chip for information about their
missing airforce navigator, Ron Arad, shot down over Lebanon
in 1986. If you visit the Ron Arad homepage, you can listen
to the song about him, or see a little movie about him, or
sign a petition, or read many articles on the kidnap of Obaid.
I was reminded of Sheikh Obaid by a campaign started last
year for his release. A letter from Umm Sajed asking the world
to remember her husband had sparked a letter writing campaign,
which led to brief but fruitful correspondence between the
British Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Ministry of Justice.
Armed with the confirmation that the IDF had jurisdiction
over Obaid's detention, four British barristers from Justice
International, went to Tel Aviv in January, to try and find
him, and start proceedings for his release. I spoke to them
before they left - they knew it would be a long process.
Despite increasingly vehement correspondence from the group's
leader John Platts Mills QC with various ministries and departments,
no official response could be gleaned and no conferences arranged.
Dismayed at the callousness of a supposedly democratic government,
they tried the Mandela Institute, a human rights research
organisation, and traced the whereabouts of Obaid and another
abductee Mustafa Dirani, to a High Security Detention Unit
in Sarafan Military Compass. Again access was denied, but
for the first time Obaid's whereabouts had become known.
| Umm Sajed, is a French educated teacher. She doesn't
teach now, but stays in her second floor flat, protecting
her young family. She explained to me that their youngest
daughter Mujahidah had been sleeping on their bed the
night the commandos came. She was three months old and
had been poorly. Released by neighbours from her bondage
after the commandos had gone, Umm Sajed went to find her
child. Eventually she was retrieved from under their overturned
bed. In an Israeli TV interview, two years later, Obaid
spoke of not knowing Mujahidah's fate. |
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The only message
Sheikh Obaid was allowed to send his family reads:
"I only miss
seeing you and I am missing you all very much. I don't
want to mention names because I don't know who is
alive and who is dead. Hopefully I will see you soon."
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In last year's Schmidbauer brokered negotiations over the
fate of South Lebanon, the German Minister arranged for postcards
to be delivered from Obaid and Dirani, to their families.
Obaid's card reads, "I only miss seeing you and I am
missing you all very much. I don't want to mention names because
I don't know who is alive and who is dead. Hopefully I will
see you soon."
Mujahidah poses for a picture for me - she looks like the
father she doesn't remember. He was not incarcerated for criminal
activity - something a seven year old might understand, but
for his political conscience. It's hard not to share Mujahidah's
confusion at the fate of her father. In a letter to Moshe
Raviv the Israeli Ambassador, the former Chair of the Parliamentary
Human Rights Group, Lord Avebury asks regarding Obaid and
Dirani, whether as the Israeli Defence Minister says, they
are to be held until information about Ron Arad is revealed,
and "whether it is really true that [they] are detained
as a means of bringing pressure to bear on whoever is holding
Ron Arad?" Two previous letters about the imprisoned
Israeli physicist Mordechai Vannunu remain unanswered.
Despite Beirut's bustling commercial centre, and even the
jovial if shell-cratered streets of its Shia sectors, a sense
of closure remains amiss several years down the road of peace
in Lebanon. The bloody civil war may have ended, but an atmosphere
of unease remains. Like the letters to Moshe Raviv, many issues
need answers. Obaid was kidnapped during the civil war. Dirani
however was taken from the Beka in May 1994: how can the post-war
Lebanese government claim to be independent when its citizens
are susceptible to abduction and disappearance at the hands
of an aggressive neighbour? The notorious Khiam prison camp
in the occupied south, contains Lebanese arbitrarily picked
up by the South Lebanon Army, Israel's agent in the zone.
Syrian troops are everywhere else, supervising a country -
formerly a Syrian province - which they were removed from
in 1920. The same 'international consensus' that removed them,
put them back. What will happen if, as the Christian community
wants, the Syrians go? Will there be an independent Lebanon
if they stay?
Obaid's youngest son, Hassan Al-Mujtabah, was two when his
father disappeared. A shadowy memory of the man's existence
remains, but Sajed to all extents and purposes, is his father
now. The hope remains with him however, that one day this
chapter will also be closed, and Abdulkareem Obaid will come
home. Until that day, Lebanon's unease remains, and it continues
to be a hostage to its own existence.
Arzu Merali
Islamic Human Rights Commission
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CHRONOLOGY
OF EVENTS
Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid in his home village
of Jibchit
1989
28 July
- Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid was kidnapped by Israeli commandos
from his house in the village of Jibchit in Southern Lebanon.
1993
25 July
- Israeli attack on Lebanon, in particular Sheikh Obeid's
village.
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An Israeli Defence Force spokesman: "70% of the
village of Jibchit is totally destroyed . . . because
of its importance to the Shi'ite population of southern
Lebanon."
Jibchit was the home of Sheikh Obeid.
A veteran British correspondent: Obeid's "home
received a direct hit from a missile, although the Israelis
were presumably gunning for his wife and 3 children-
after all, they kidnapped the Sheik in 1989 and still
held him in the Ashkalon prison in Israel."
"The general aim is to wipe the villages from
the face of the earth and sow destruction around them."
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1994
21 May
- Mustafa Dirani was kidnapped from his home in the Bekaa
valley in Lebanon (on Eid Al-Adha).
At 2.30 am he awoke to find Israeli soldiers in his room;
his wife was handcuffed and taken into another room and his
six year old daughter was threatened to be killed as soldiers
asked her, “where is Ron Arad” an Israeli air force
navigator whose plane was shot down as he was bombing Palestinian
positions east of Sidon in October 1986.
Musafa Dirani was recovering from brain surgery when kidnapped.
He was taken to an unknown location in Israel. He had been
accused by the Israeli state of being involved in the capturing
of Ron Arad, so was kidnapped to be used as a bargaining tool
for the Israelis to regain Ron Arad. Three days later, Mustafa
Dirani’s deputy denied allegations that he had sold Ron
Arad to Iranians and had no knowledge of the missing pilot.
In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
stated that they had demanded their representatives be allowed
to visit Dirani as his seizure had been a “clear breach
of article 34 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids
the taking of hostages.”
1996
Campaign to free Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani launched.
1997
January
- A team of international lawyers visited Tel Aviv and confirmed
the location of Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani as being in
Sarafan Military Compass, a high security detention centre
near Tel Aviv. This was the first time since both Sheikh Obeid
and Mustafa Dirani were kidnapped that their whereabouts had
been determined. However the lawyers were prevented by the
Israeli authorities from seeing their clients.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) instructed Britain’s
Ambassador in Tel
Aviv to “raise the plight of Sheikh Obeid with the Israelis”
following the work of campaigners in sending letters to MPs,
international organisations etc. Upon writing three times
to the Ministry of Justice in Tel Aviv the FCO received one
answer stating that the matter had been “referred to
the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), which has jurisdiction over
the detention of Sheikh Obeid”.
1998
March
- Amnesty International slams Israel over authorizing hostage
taking.
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Amnesty
slams Israel court hostage ruling
Beirut, Lebanon (Reuters)
March 9 1998
Amnesty International has condemned an Israeli Supreme
Court ruling authorizing Israel to hold 10 Lebanese
detainees as bargaining cards, saying it "explicitly
legitimizes hostage taking."
"This decision is intolerable," the London-based
international human rights group said in a March 6 statement
faxed to Reuters in Beirut Monday.
Israel's Supreme Court said in a document made public
on March 4 that foreign nationals could be detained
as "bargaining cards" in negotiations over
missing servicemen. The ruling represented a rare public
admission that Israel was holding without trial members
of the pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) which is
fighting to oust Israeli troops from an occupation zone
in south Lebanon.
The court which acknowledged that the practice infringed
human rights said Israel's "vital interests"
took precedence. "Those held as hostages include
people who were only 16 when they were taken from their
village and have now spent up to 11 years in detention,
often secret and incommunicado.
"These are real people, not objects to be used
as political pawns," Amnesty International said.
In the Supreme Court records, detainees were referred
to as a "bargaining card ... captured to achieve
a goal and not himself the target."
"The Israeli government has acknowledged that
the detainees themselves pose no threat to state security.
Their continued detention therefore has no basis in
international law," Amnesty said.
The detainees held without trial include Hizbollah
cleric Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid, abducted from his home
in 1989 in a predawn raid by airborne Israeli commandos,
and Islamist faction leader Mustapha Dirani, snatched
from his home by Israeli troops in 1994.
"In violation of the Geneva Conventions, ratified
by Israel, two of the detainees, Mustapah al-Dirani
and Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid have never had access to
the International Committee of the Red Cross,"
Amnesty added.
Amnesty said 11 other Lebanese were held as hostages
by the Israeli authorities. At least 150 other Lebanese
nationals are held in Khiam detention center run by
Israel's proxy militia inside Israel's south Lebanon
occupation zone.
"The organization is calling for the immediate
and unconditional release of Lebanese hostages held
in Israel," Amnesty added.
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2000
March
- Mustafa Dirani’s Israeli lawyer Zvi Rish issued a report
stating that he had been severely tortured. This was the first
time his family had heard about his condition for six years.
The Israelis denied his family access to see him nor was unable
to receive letters from them. The International Committee
of the Red Cross was also denied visitation rights.
April
- Mustafa Dirani had filed a lawsuit against his captors accusing
guards of severe torture and rape. He had now spent seven
years in solitary confinement in Sarafand prison.
Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustafa Dirani
at the Tel Aviv District Court on May 29 2000
June
- Israeli forces which had illegally occupied Southern Lebanon
since 1982 were finally forced to leave, liberated by members
of Hizbollah. Resistance fighters who had fought against the
occupation were released from the notorious Khiam detention
centre, where many detainees had been severely tortured and
beaten by guards.
July
- The Tel Aviv District Court Judge ruled that Israel was
entitled to hold Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani for at least
another three months as they remained a threat to “Israeli
National Security”, even though Southern Lebanon had
now been liberated. Previous requests from a UN envoy to Israel
to release them had been ignored.
2001
August
- The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) could have access to Sheikh Obeid
and Mustafa Dirani who have now been held without trial for
12 and 7 years respectively in Israel. However due to petitions
from families of Israeli soldiers missing in Lebanon the visits
were prevented.
November
- The General-Director of ICRC met the families of both Sheikh
Obeid and Mustafa Dirani. He described how the Israelis had
prevented him from visiting both the detainees or even allowing
him to gain information about both their physical situation.
Since his abduction 12 years ago Sheikh Obeid’s family
have only received three messages from him.
To date, both Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani have been held
in Israel without charge. They have not been granted “prisoner
of war” status and are two of 20 Lebanese and 1600 Palestinian
held captives. Both their health has continued to deteriorate
in the subhuman conditions they are kept in. The Israeli authorities
openly admit to using hostages as bargaining chips with the
Palestinian and Lebanese authorities.
2002
4 March
- The Israeli Knesset passed a law entitled “Imprisonment
of Combatants Who are Not Entitled to Prisoner-of-War Status,”
popularly dubbed the ‘Obeid-Dirani Law’. The purpose
of the law was to allow Israel to continue to hold Sheikh
Obeid and Mustafa Dirani as hostages. The passing of this
draconian and regressive legislation allowing government-sanctioned
hostage taking elicited a great deal of international condemnation
April
- A ruling by the High Court of Israel declared that Lebanese
nationals can not be held as hostages in return for missing
Israeli soldiers. Subsequently, thirteen Lebanese prisoners
were released, with the exception of Obeid and Dirani. This
is important. The Israeli Supreme court has made the admission
that Obeid and Dirani are being held as “bargaining chips”
and hence as hostages. This constitutes a gross violation
of international humanitarian law, especially the Fourth Geneva
Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
Through its actions and the ‘Obeid-Dirani law’,
Israel has deliberately and brazenly chosen to openly flaunt
and deny its legal obligations. The justification has always
been the resort to the concept of Israel’s self-interest.
Article 34 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifically prohibits
hostage taking Furthermore, concern has been voiced over the
secretive and extended detention endured by Obeid and Dirani,
especially in relation to the enforced psychological isolation
they have endured, which may constitute torture. This would
amount to both a serious violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention
and a war crime. This further suppresses Obeid and Dirani’s
rights under the United Nations International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations
Convention Against Torture (CAT), both of which prohibit prolonged
detention and solitary confinement.
2003
28 July
- 14th Anniversary of kidnapping of Sheikh Obeid, vigils and
demonstrations were held around the world including London
and Lebanon. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah addressed the rally in
Lebanon:
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Hizbullah
Gives Israel Last Chance To Release Prisoners
The head of Lebanon's resistance movement Hizbullah
warned Sunday, July 27, that the movement would capture
more Israeli soldiers unless Lebanese prisoners held
in Israel were released.
"We are going to give a last chance for negotiations
to exchange prisoners between us and Israel. (But) If
this chance is not taken, we will consider the number
of Israeli prisoners we hold is not enough and work
night and day to increase the number," Agence France-Presse
(AFP) quoted Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah as telling a rally
in the southern village of Jibchit, marking the 14th
anniversary of the abduction of Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid
from his village by zionist commandos.
The Hizbullah leader, while calling for Germany to
resume a mediation mission on the prisoners issue, said
he could "not give any assurance on the fate of
colonel Tenenbaum," one of the four Israelis captured
by Hizbullah, who was seized in Beirut. Colonel Tenenbaum
is thought to be a Mossad operative.
"As the media have reported, Tenenbaum has a serious
illness. We have treated him, but today I can not say
whether he is dead or alive."
Hizbullah has been holding four Israelis since October
2000, three of them soldiers captured in the Shebaa
Farms border area of Lebanon which is still illegally
occupied by Israel. Israel is holding about 20 Lebanese,
including Hizbullah chiefs Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh
Abdel Karim Obeid.
Hizbullah, backed by the Lebanese government, calls
for the release of all 20 Lebanese detainees in zionist
jails. The zionists admit holding only 15 Lebanese detainees.
Nasrallah accused Israel of dragging its feet on the
prisoner issue.
"They (Israelis) did not exert any real effort
to know the fate of their soldiers - which was possible
- and all what the enemy's officials told the families
of the Zionist prisoners is lies," he said. "They
did not exert any effort and they did not make any offer."
Nasrallah said Hizbullah was not ready "to negotiate
for four or five years."
"We are giving this (negotiations for a prisoner
swap) a new chance and I don't think anyone in this
world can be clearer," he said.
The resistance movement began demanding the release
of Palestinians too after the capture of the three zionist
soldiers in October 2000. In April 2002, Hizbullah offered
to free Tenenbaum in exchange for the lives of Palestinians
abducted in the West Bank city of Jenin.
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WHAT
YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
Campaign
Letters
In order to put pressure on the Israeli government to release
Sheikh Obeid and Mustafa Dirani we need to raise the awareness
of their cases and pressure our own governments and other
relevant bodies to demand from the Israelis the immediate
and unconditional release of all Prisoners of Faith. Below
are provided sample letters. Please make copies and get your
family, friends and community to send them.
UN High Commissioner on Human Rights
Email: webadmin.hchr@unog.ch
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Your name
Your address
Date
Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello,
UN High Commissioner on Human Rights
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Dear Sir,
I am writing with deep concern over the continued detention
of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani, two
Lebanese nationals who have been detained now for 14
and 9 years respectively, after being abducted from
their homes by Israeli forces.
I have been extremely disturbed at reports that indicate
both Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani have
been tortured. Mustafa Dirani’s Israeli lawyer
has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli authorities
for damages arising from the torture and sexual abuse
by the Israeli military. The conditions of their detention
constitute violations of several UN conventions, such
as the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention Against
Torture, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are being held without charge with the Israeli
authorities publicly admitting to holding them as bargaining
chips. This is a fact admitted to by the Israeli Supreme
Court.
I urge you to intervene in this matter and insist on
the immediate release of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and
Mustafa Dirani. I further ask you to insist that the
Israeli government adheres to international human rights
standards and norms with regards to these and other
prisoners.
I look forward to hearing from you soon as to what
steps have been taken to ensure the immediate and unconditional
release of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani.
Yours sincerely
Your sign
Your name.
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Foreign Secretary (UK)
Fax number: 01254 682213
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Your name
Your address
Date
Mr Jack Straw MP,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Dear Sir,
I am writing with deep concern over the continued detention
of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani, two
Lebanese nationals who have been detained now for 14
and 9 years respectively, after being abducted from
their homes by Israeli forces.
I have been extremely disturbed at reports that indicate
both Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani have
been tortured. Mustafa Dirani’s Israeli lawyer
has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli authorities
for damages arising from the torture and sexual abuse
by the Israeli military. The conditions of their detention
constitute violations of several UN conventions, such
as the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention Against
Torture, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are being held without charge with the Israeli
authorities publicly admitting to holding them as bargaining
chips. This is a fact admitted to by the Israeli Supreme
Court.
I urge you to raise the continued detention of Sheikh
Obaid and Mustafa Dirani with the Israeli government.
Britain claims to be an upholder of justice and human
rights; therefore to substantiate its claims it should
request the immediate release of the above mentioned
prisoners. Furthermore the British government should
insist the Israeli government brings its human rights
practices particularly those relating to detention,
in line with international human rights laws.
I look forward to hearing from you soon as to what
steps have been taken to ensure the immediate and unconditional
release of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani.
Yours sincerely
Your sign
Your name.
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Member of Parliament (UK)
Fax Number for your MP: see www.faxyourmp.com
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Your name
Your address
Date
Your Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
House of Commons
London
SW1 0AA
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing with deep concern over the continued detention
of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani, two
Lebanese nationals who have been detained now for 14
and 9 years respectively, after being abducted from
their homes by Israeli forces.
I have been extremely disturbed at reports that indicate
both Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani have
been tortured. Mustafa Dirani’s Israeli lawyer
has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli authorities
for damages arising from the torture and sexual abuse
by the Israeli military. The conditions of their detention
constitute violations of several UN conventions, such
as the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention Against
Torture, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are being held without charge with the Israeli
authorities publicly admitting to holding them as bargaining
chips. This is a fact admitted to by the Israeli Supreme
Court.
I trust you will raise the issue of Sheikh Obaid and
Mustafa Dirani’s continued imprisonment with the
Foreign Secretary, in order for him to further raise
the issue with his Israeli counterpart. The British
government should insist the Israeli government brings
its human rights practices particularly those relating
to detention, in line with international human rights
laws and insist upon the immediate release of these
prisoners.
I look forward to hearing from you soon as to what
steps have been taken to ensure the immediate and unconditional
release of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani.
Yours sincerely
Your sign
Your name.
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Minister (for any country)
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Your name
Your address
Date
Minister of your country
Dear Sir/Madam,
Re: Sheikh Obaid, Mustafa Dirani and other Prisoners
of Faith
I write to express my concern at the continued imprisonment
of Sheikh Obaid, Mustafa Dirani and other hostages without
charge in Israel.
As your office is aware, Sheikh Obaid especially has
been in detention for 14 years now. I am asking you
to intercede on the behalf of Sheikh Obaid, Mustafa
Dirani and other Prisoners of Faith held by the Israelis
and demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
I look forward to hearing from you shortly,
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Your sign.
Your name.
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US Ambassador (UK)
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Your name
Your address
Date
Ambassador William S Farish
American Embassy
24 Grosvenor Square
London
W1A 1AE
Dear Sir,
I am writing with deep concern over the continued detention
of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani, two
Lebanese nationals who have been detained now for 14
and 9 years respectively, after being abducted from
their homes by Israeli forces.
I have been extremely disturbed at reports that indicate
both Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani have
been tortured. Mustafa Dirani’s Israeli lawyer
has filed a lawsuit against the Israeli authorities
for damages arising from the torture and sexual abuse
by the Israeli military. The conditions of their detention
constitute violations of several UN conventions, such
as the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Convention Against
Torture, to which Israel is a signatory.
They are being held without charge with the Israeli
authorities publicly admitting to holding them as bargaining
chips. This is a fact admitted to by the Israeli Supreme
Court.
I am writing to you since your government has a tremendous
influence over the Israeli government. On that basis,
I urge you to intervene in this matter and insist on
the immediate release of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and
Mustafa Dirani. I further ask you to insist that the
Israeli government adheres to international human rights
standards and norms with regards to these and other
prisoners.
I look forward to hearing from you soon as to what
steps have been taken to ensure the immediate and unconditional
release of Sheikh Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani.
Yours sincerely
Your sign
Your name.
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Prisoner
of Faith Postcards
As part of their Prisoners of Faith Campaign the Islamic
Human Rights Commission have made available postcards featuring
different prisoners of faith. If you would like Sheikh Obeid
prisoner of faith postcards to send, please contact IHRC
on info@ihrc.org.
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Further
Information
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The Islamic Human Rights Commission has prepared a
detailed Prisoners of Faith campaign pack on Sheikh
Obeid and Mustafa Dirani. Its in PDF format and is available
for download here.
The main IHRC website is at:
http://www.ihrc.org
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Sajed, the eldest son of Sheikh Obeid, has a website
with information on his father. The website is in arabic,
follow the link below to visit it:
http://www.geocities.com/sajedz/sheikh_obeid.htm
 A nice
sound-bite from one of Sheikh Obeid's sermons followed
by a resistance chorus sourced from Sajeds website is
provided here in real
audio format (dur. 48 sec, 127Kb)
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The "Islamic Resistance Support Association"
website is a treasure trove of information on all aspects
of the zionist occupation and the Islamic resistance
to it, including the hostages. the website (english
and Arabic) is at:
http://www.moqawama.tv
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KHIAM PRISON - Israels Torture Den, a photo-article
detailing life under Israeli detention:
http://www.inminds.co.uk/khiam-prison.html
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"Follow-Up Committee for the Support of the Lebanese
Detainees in the Israeli Prisons", has an informative
website in English at:
http://www.followupcsld-ip.org.lb
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"National Association for Lebanese Detainees"
has a website in both Arabic and English at:
http://www.naldip.org.lb
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Comments
If you wish to ask any questions
or make comments with regards to this campaign please feel
free to enter your message below, then
press SEND.
(All fields are OPTIONAL, but if you want a reply then please
include an e-mail address - thank you).
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PAGE URL:
http://www.inminds.co.uk/sheikh-obeid.html
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