New hearing session for woman human rights defender Shatha Odeh
On 8 July 2021, the Ofer Military Court rescheduled the hearing session of woman human rights defender Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh to 14 July 2021. The woman human rights defender was detained on 7 July 2021 at her house in Ramallah, as part of a wider crackdown against the Health Work Committee. Juana Ruiz Sánchez, the project coordinator of the organisation has been detained since 13 April 2021.
Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh is a woman human rights defender and the Director of the Health Work Committee, an organisation working to deliver health services to Palestinians in remote areas of the West Bank. The organisation focuses specifically on women’s and children’s health.
On 4 October 2021, a new hearing session will take place at the Ofer military court regarding the case of Shatha Odeh, who is a woman human rights defender and the director of the Health Work Committee (HWC). Shatha Odeh is a 60-year-old mother of three, who was forcibly and arbitrarily removed from her house in Ramallah, Palestine in the early hours on 7 July 2021 and has remained in detention since.
Shatha Odeh is the director of the Health Work Committee, an organisation working on delivering health services to Palestinians in remote areas of the West Bank. The organisation focuses on women’s and children’s health. She is a women’s health expert and has worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide health services to Palestinians living in the West Bank.
On 26 July 2021, during the third hearing of Shatha Odeh’s case, the military prosecution presented five charges against her including “holding a position in an unlawful association”, “presence in a public event on 14 May 2019”, “receiving and bringing funds illegally into the area”, “receiving funds and support fraudulently” and “the fraudulent use of documents”. The charges brought against the woman human rights defender are linked to an announcement by the Israeli military commander on 22 January 2020, in which he stated that the HWC was an unlawful organisation.
Since her arrest on 7 July 2021, Shatha Odeh’s detention was extended three times by the Israeli military court on 8 July 2021, 14 July 2021, and up until her third hearing on 26 July 2021, when the military prosecutor laid out the charges against her. Shatha Odeh’s case is being heard by an Israeli military court consisting of three military judges rather than one. Each of the three military court hearings, including the final one in which charges were brought against her, lasted less than 15 minutes and were conducted in Hebrew, a language neither Shatha Odeh nor her family understand.
The conditions of Shatha Odeh’s detention and interrogations in the Hasharon Detention Center were poor, cruel, and inhumane as she was held in isolation and was not immediately placed in a women’s prison. During the third hearing, Shatha Odeh’s lawyer requested that the judge submit a request to the Israeli Prison authorities to transfer Shatha Odeh to Damoun Female Prison in Haifa. On 27 July 2021, the woman human rights defender was transferred to Damoun Female Prison.
Shatha Odeh has numerous chronic illnesses including hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, and irritable bowel syndrome. Up until 15 July 2021, the Israeli Prison authorities denied Shatha Odeh’s request for one of her medications and was only given access to it after her lawyer presented a report explaining the importance of this medication. Since her detention Shatha Odeh has lost nine kilos.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned regarding the detention of the women human right defender Shatha Odeh and the other staff members of the Health Work Committee. Front Line Defenders believes Shatha Odeh’s detention is solely based on her peaceful and legitimate human rights work and the charges against her reflect both an escalating policy by Israeli occupying authorities of criminalizing fundamental Palestinian human rights defenders and organisations on terror-related charges.
On 8 July 2021, the Ofer Military Court rescheduled the hearing session of woman human rights defender Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh to 14 July 2021. The woman human rights defender was detained on 7 July 2021 at her house in Ramallah, as part of a wider crackdown against the Health Work Committee. Juana Ruiz Sánchez, the project coordinator of the organisation has been detained since 13 April 2021.
Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh is a woman human rights defender and the Director of the Health Work Committee, an organisation working to deliver health services to Palestinians in remote areas of the West Bank. The organisation focuses specifically on women’s and children’s health. Juana Ruiz Sánchez is a Spanish woman human rights defender, she has been working in the Health Work Committee for almost 28 years, she worked as the project coordinator in the organisation.
On 7 July 2021, early in the morning, approximately 15 soldiers raided the house of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh. The soldiers separated the family from the woman human rights defender, and detained her. The family reported that a female soldier was accompanying Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh and heard her shouting at the woman human rights defender. The soldiers also confiscated Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh’s phone and car which belong to the Health Work Committee. The woman human rights defender was taken to Ofer prison, where there is no women’s section. On the same day she was transferred to Hasharon prison, located in Israel, which is a breach of International Humanitarian Law, as the IV Geneva Convention prohibits transferring prisoners outside their territories. The woman human rights defender has a medical condition which requires 8 pills daily, and regular medical examinations. She is not allowed to take her medication now, as the Israeli authorities have refused the entry of her medications into the prison. She was not allowed to meet with her lawyer until her hearing session, and she was only allowed to contact one of her family members briefly.
On 8 July 2021, the first hearing session of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh was supposed to be held in front of the Ofer Military Court, however, her hearing was rescheduled to 14 July 2021. No charges have been submitted against the woman human rights defender yet.
The detention of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh is part of a wider crackdown against the Health Work Committee. On 9 June 2021, the Israeli army raided the organisation’s headquarter in Ramallah, and ordered the closure of the organisation for six months. During the raid, the soldiers confiscated several items belonging to the organisation, including computers and documents. The raid caused several damages in the organisation’s building, including breaking the door to the building.
The crackdown also included the earlier detention of woman human rights defender Juana Ruiz Sánchez. Juana Ruiz Sánchez has been in detention since 13 April 2021 and is facing the charges of "participating in the activities of an illegal organisation", "being part of the board of directors of an illegal organisation", "receiving and introducing money into the Palestinian territories" and of "receiving money for a false purpose”, which are based on her work for the Health Work Committee. Juana Ruiz Sánchez has had very limited access to her lawyer and family, and she was kept in solitary confinement for approximately 20 days. The UN Human Rights Committee has in recent years denounced the use of solitary confinement, noting that “prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by article 7,” which is the prohibition of acts of torture. The woman human rights defender is currently detained in Al-Damoun women’s prison.
The ongoing judicial harassments have also included the detention of the organisation’s accountant, Tayseer abu Sharbak, who was detained on 8 March 2021 and is being held in Ofer prison. He is facing the charges of “participating in the activities of an illegal organisation” as well as charges relating to terrorism, because of his work with the Health Work Committee. He has since had contact with his lawyer, however, his family have not been able to see him due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned regarding the detention and ill-treatment of the women human rights defenders, and the other staff members of the Health Work Committee. Front Line Defenders believes that their detention is solely based on their peaceful and legitimate human rights work.
