The ECBA has received credible reports that our colleague Salah Hamouri, a French-Palestinian lawyer and a fervent defender of human rights in Palestine, was arrested on 7 March 2022 by the Israeli authorities.  Since then, he has been detained in allegedly deplorable conditions without charge and without the benefit of a fair trial. 

Salah Hamouri has been persecuted for many years, throughout that time suffering multiple arrests and arbitrary detentions. Furthermore, his wife and young son have been exiled from Palestinian/Israeli territories and he himself has, since 3 September 2020, been subject to a deportation procedure. 

His current apparent arbitrary detention without charge or trial violates every concept of international law and human rights standards. According to reports, administrative detention is a domestic policy that allows imprisonment without trial or charge, based on “secret evidence” which neither the detainee nor his lawyer can view, for an indefinite period. 

We now urge the Israeli authorities to immediately release our colleague Salah Hamouri. 

All those held in administrative detention must be immediately released unless they are promptly charged with an internationally recognizable offence and tried in proceedings that adhere to international fair trial standards.

We call on the Israeli authorities to uphold democratic values and fair trial principles without any compromises.

We condemn and reject the decision to revoke Hamouri’s Jerusalem residency as an act of punishment for his human rights work.

We urge the international community to act effectively and quickly to help secure his  release, prevent  his forced deportation from Jerusalem and compensate him for the human rights violations he was subjected to.