On May 8, relatives and supporters of administrative detainee Raja Eghbarieh, the solidarity campaign with him and the Higher Follow-Up Committee for the Arab Public issued an urgent statement warning of the danger to his life as a result of the abuse he is being subjected to by the Israeli prison administration.
Raja Eghbarieh, 73, is a veteran leader of the struggle of ‘48 Palestinians to regain their civil and national rights, one of the founders of the Sons of the Country Movement (Abnaa el-Balad) and its first secretary-general. He contributed to the establishment of the Higher Follow-Up Committee and participated in leading numerous struggles locally and nationally. He was arrested from his home in Umm al-Fahm on April 9, and the following week was transferred to administrative detention.
On May 8, the head of the Haifa district court was scheduled to “review” the administrative detention order against Eghbarieh. Theoretically he could abolish the order, but this never happens in Israel, where the courts rubber stamp almost any directive from the all-mighty Shin Bet.
Before the scheduled start of the hearing, Eghbarieh’s solidarity campaigners organized a vigil in front of the Haifa court building, which is built on the ruins of the old city center of Arab Haifa that was completely destroyed by the Zionist occupiers in 1948. Dozens of protesters participated in the vigil, holding pictures of Eghbarieh and banners calling for the abolition of all administrative detentions. Prominent in their presence were senior representatives of the Palestinian leadership in 1948, including Mohammad Barakeh, head of the Follow-Up Committee, and the most popular Islamic leader Sheikh Raed Salah.
The Prison authorities refused to let Eghbarieh attend, even by video link. The defense attorneys responded by refusing to hold the session without him. After long delays, the court session was postponed.
In this context, it is worth noting that during the last court session on April 22, Eghbarieh complained of severe beatings and assaults he suffered in Megiddo Prison. Since then, for reasons yet unclear, but possibly motivated by retribution, he has been transferred to Ramon Prison in the southern Negev. Since the start of his administrative detention, the prison administration has not allowed Eghbarieh’s lawyers to meet him. Reports from the prison indicate that his leg was broken. Defense lawyers expressed grave concern over the continued harassment of Eghbarieh, escalating and potentially posing a real threat to his life.
Eventually, the judge asked the Prison Service to submit a detailed report about the state of Eghbarieh’s health, and adjourned the hearing until May 19.
Statement issued by the Raja Eghbarieh Solidarity Campaign
His life is in danger – Free Raja Eghbarieh immediately!
The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens, the family of administrative detainee Raja Eghbarieh, and the solidarity campaign with him hold the Israeli authorities, specifically the Prison Service and the court, fully responsible for the life of the activist leader Raja Eghbarieh. They also accuse the executive authorities, the Prison Service, and the political echelon of pursuing a policy of retaliatory liquidation that poses a direct threat to his life.
We learned that administrative detainee Raja Eghbarieh has been transferred to Ramon Prison, and is held in a closed wing where serious skin diseases are prevalent. He has been subjected to beatings, torture, and a broken leg. At his age, 73, and with serious previous medical conditions, his life is in imminent danger.
Eghbarieh had previously spoken in court about the beatings, humiliation, and violence he has been subjected to.
The denial of lawyers’ visits to review his condition, and the scheduling of his first visit for June, only increases doubts about his health and the torture and humiliation he has been subjected to.
During the Haifa District Court session today, May 8, the Prison Service refused to allow administrative detainee Raja Eghbarieh to participate in the hearing, even via Zoom, claiming that the section he was being held in was closed due to a skin disease prevalent among the prisoners.
According to the law, his status as an administrative detainee should grant him broader rights than those granted to prisoners convicted based on an indictment. Yet, the Prison Service deny him basic rights, including visits from lawyers, medical supervision, and appearance before the court session in person or via Zoom.
Based on the insistence of the defense team that the court should not hold the session today, unless Raja Eghbarieh attends remotely, and the Prison Service’s refusal to allow this, the court criticised the Prison Service and decided to postpone the session until May 19. The court will then issue its decision, either to revoke the Minister of Security’s four-month administrative detention order, accept it as is, or shorten the period.
The Follow-up Committee, the family, and the Solidarity Campaign express grave concern for Raja Eghbarieh’s life, and considering what he is being subjected to as a liquidation policy. Concrete steps will be announced in this regard at the local and international levels.
Raja Eghbarieh must be released immediately to save his life!
May 8, 2025
Additional links
Free Raja Eghbarieh campaign in Facebook
A nice video bringing the latest news in Raja’s case (Hebrew with English sub-titles)
About the previous political persecution of Raja Eghbarieh read here, here, here and here (and also in Spanish here).
To contact Abnaa el-Balad about this campaign, please email: abnaa.albald48@gmail.com
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