http://www.al-awda.org/alert-khader.html ACTION ALERT For Immediate Release March 17, 2007 Freedom For Hussam Khader! Freedom For All Palestinian Prisoners! All that I stand for stems from my faith in the right of my people to be free (Hussam Khader) Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition demands that pressure is brought to bear on the Zionist authorities to release Hussam Khader, former Palestinian Legislative Council member, founder of the Committee to Defend Refugee Rights and senior Fateh leader. Hussam, who was the first of many Palestinian activists deported to Lebanon for being leaders of the 1987-91 Intifada, was kidnapped from his home in Balata Camp on March 17, 2003. Following a lengthy trial of 2˝ years, he was sentenced to 7 years in jail. According to members of the delegation of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union present at the hearings, Hussam's hearings failed to meet international standards of fair trial. Throughout his trial, Khader maintained that the case against him was an attempt to silence him because of his staunch adherence to the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees. He also accused members of the Palestinian National Authority of aiding his arrest in the hope of silencing his unrelenting criticism of PA corruption and lack of transparency. Hussam Khader is one of approximately 11,000 Palestinians currently imprisoned by Israel. Violation of international human rights laws and being subjected to torture are not only evident in Khader's case, but are common practices against all Palestinian prisoners. Additional information on Hussam's case are found at http://www.hussamkhader.org/internal/committee/default.htm Al-Awda calls on its members, supporters and all people of conscience to: 1. Send a card or letter of support to Hussam Khader in prison Hussam Mahmoud Abdel Rahman Khader, Beer Sheeva Prison, Eshel Section No. 4, Area No. 84100, TH 59 Israel 2. Demand that Hussam Khader and all the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including the 40 elected parliamentarians, are accorded their rights as enshrined in international human rights law and conventions to which Israel is a signatory. Write to: Louise Arbour U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Commission/Sub-commission Team Treaties and Commissions Branch Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights UNOG-OHCHR 211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 917 9000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +41 22 917 9000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Fax: +41 22 917 9022 mailto:1503@ohchr.org 1503@ohchr.org For urgent matters related to human rights violations mailto:tb-petitions@ohchr.org tb-petitions@ohchr.org Mr. Jose' Manuel Barroso President, European Commission 1049 Brussels Belgium mailto:sg-web-president@ec.europa.eu sg-web-president@ec.europa.eu Tel.: +32.2.298.81.55 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +32.2.298.81.55      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Afif Safyeh PLO Mission 320 18th Street, suite # 200, Northwest, Washington, DC, 20036 Telephone: (202) 974 6360 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (202) 974 6360      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Fax: (202) 974 6278 mailto:plomission1@aol.com plomission1@aol.com Mahmoud Abbas President, Palestinian Authority Office of the President The Beach Forum Gaza City Tel: ++972 2 2824834 Fax: ++972 2 2823487 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition PO Box 131352 Carlsbad, CA 92013, USA Tel: 760-685-3243 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              760-685-3243      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Fax: 360-933-3568 E-mail: mailto:info@al-awda.org info@al-awda.org WWW: http://al-awda.org http://al-awda.org Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to Palestinian human rights. We are a not for profit tax-exempt educational and charitable 501(c)(3) organization as defined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States of America. Under IRS guidelines, your http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html donations to PRRC are tax-deductible