Imad Nofal - English

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Name: Imad Nofal

Date of Birth: 4 January1970

Date of Arrest: 23 November 2012

Place of Detention: Megiddo Prison

Marital Status: Married with 4 children

Occupation: Representative of Qalqilia

in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)

Education: MA in Islamic Law

Arrest

PLC member Imad Nofal was arrested on 23 November 2012 at 1:30 AM by Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) who surrounded the building from all sides and violently banged on the door. When Imad opened the door, ten soldiers entered the house, ordering everyone, including the children, to go to the building’s yard. They emptied the whole building, which consisted of three floors. The soldiers pointed their weapons at the residents of the building, instructing them not to move. They then arrested Imad, shackled him, and transferred him to an unknown destination.

Imad was later transferred to Huwwara detention center, where he was kept for 12 days. During this time, he was also briefly interrogated in Salem interrogation center. A few days later, an administrative detention order for 6 months was issued against him, and he was transferred to Megiddo Prison.

Legal status

An administrative detention order for 6 months was issued against Imad one week after his arrest and was subsequently confirmed by a military judge. Fifteen days after the order was confirmed, Imad was presented with a list of charges at Salem Military Court. He was charged with participating in a peaceful demonstration calling for reconciliation organized by Hamas in 2011. Imad is still in the midst of court proceedings; a decision regarding his case is continuously delayed.

It should be mentioned that the military prosecution cancelled his previous administrative detention order.

Previous arrests

First arrest:

Imad was arrested on August 5 1999 when he was on his way to Ramallah. He was detained at a military checkpoint for a long period of time while shackled and blindfolded. He was then transferred to Al-Jalameh interrogation center. He was detained in a cell, where he was subjected to numerous torture methods, including being forced to sit in stress positions for long periods of time. After two months of interrogation, no charges were filed against him and he was released.

Second arrest:

Imad’s second arrest occurred on 28 June 2006. IOF surrounded Imad’s house and raided it, ordering everyone to leave. Imad was immediately transferred to Megiddo Prison and, after sentencing, was transferred to Negev Prison. He was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment for membership in the Change and Reform Bloc, demonized by Israel for its affiliation with Hamas, despite the fact that the bloc includes both non-affiliated and non-Muslim members. Imad was arrested as part of an arrest campaign that targeted more than 50 PLC members from the West Bank. This campaign served as a form of collective punishment after the imprisonment of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza in June 2006.

Third arrest:

Imad was arrested along with 5 other PLC members after the Israeli attacks on Gaza that lasted from 14 to 22 November 2012. During the attacks, 163 Palestinians were killed, hundreds were injured, and hundreds of homes were destroyed. When the attack ended, IOF immediately launched arrest campaigns targeting dozens of Palestinians in the West Bank who stood in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza Strip.

Family

PLC member Imad Nofal married Rawda Khalid Nofal, a science teacher, on 24 July 1997. They have 4 children: Mahmoud (12 years old), Abdul Rahman (10 years old), Baraa (9 years old), and Mubeen (2 years old).

Administrative detention is a procedure that allows the Israeli military to hold detainees indefinitely on secret evidence without charging them or allowing them to stand trial. In the occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli army is authorized to issue administrative detention orders against Palestinian civilians on the basis of Military Order 1651. This order empowers military commanders to detain an individual for up to six month renewable periods if they have “reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area or public security require the detention.” On or just before the expiry date, the detention order is frequently renewed. This process can continue indefinitely.

ACT NOW!

Here is how you can help Imad Nofal.

• Send Imad letters of support to his postal address in prison:

Megiddo Prison, P.O. Box 2424, via Israel

• Write to the Israeli government, military and legal authorities and demand that Imad Nofal be released immediately.

• Write to your own elected representative urging them to pressure Israel to release Imad Nofal.
• For more information about administrative detention and Addameer’s Campaign to Stop Administrative Detention please visit our website: www.addameer.org