Press Releases
19 March 2013 |Reference 20/2013
At approximately 11:45 pm on Sunday, 17 March 2013, the Israeli occupying forces deported detainee Ayman Ash-Sharawna, 36, to the Gaza Strip.
The deportation followed an unclear agreement that Ash-Sharawna would spend ten years in the Gaza Strip before returning to his place of residence in Hebron, West Bank.
Ash-Sharawna, with 28 years left on his prison sentence, was released in the prisoner swap on 18 October 2011.
He was re-arrested in January 2012 after having allegedly violated the terms of his release.
How he violated these terms remains unclear.
Ash-Sharawna began an open-ended hunger strike upon his re-arrest by Israel, which was carried out under the military order of article 186 of the Military Order No 1651, which allows a military committee to “abolish the early release” of detainees who are released under prisoner swap agreements.
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights asserts that the deportation of Ash-Sharawna is a violation of international law (IL) as it amounts to a ‘forcible transfer’ under Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
Al Mezan condemns this violation and calls on the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to oblige Israel to respect its obligations under IL, particularly Article 49 relating to the treatment of persons in occupied territory.
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