On 27 December 2007, three Palestinian human rights organizations sent a letter to Mr.
Ismail Haniya, Premier of the Deposed Government, regarding the conditions of Mr.
Omar Hilmi Al Ghoul.
Al Ghoul has been detained since 14 December 2007.
In the letter, the organizations provided their reservations regarding the way in which Al Ghoul was arrested.
The organizations sent several requests to visit Al Ghoul in detention, all of which were rejected.
As the security apparatus continues to deny access to Al Ghoul and ambiguity continues to surround the charges brought against him, the organizations are concerned that he has been subjected to torture and/or ill-treatment.
These concerns are heightened by security's continued refusal to allow the organizations' lawyers or Al Ghoul's family to visit him and ascertain his condition.
The organizations asserted that persistent refusal to allow visits with Al Ghoul represents a clear violation of the provisions of the Palestinian Basic Law and the Palestinian Criminal Procedure Law No.
3, Year 2001.
This determines the parties that have authority to issue arrest orders, and establish a group of guarantees that protect all persons under custody, including their right to a legal counsel and to a fair, competent court to consider charges against him/her.
The organizations call for their lawyers to be granted the right to visit Al Ghoul in order to examine the conditions under which he is detained, as well as the charges brought against him.
They also call for initiating a serious investigation into the circumstances which surrounded his arrest in order to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law, which provide protections and guarantees under the Basic Law and the Criminal Procedure Law.
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