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Re: End of state of emergency in the OPT
18، Jul 2007

[Unofficial Translation of original Arabic letter]

Dear Attorney General,

As of 13 July 2007, the identified period of the state of emergency throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), as declared in a decree issued by the Palestinian president on 14 June 2007, has ended.

Accordingly, the restoration of the legal status quo is now required.

Al-Haq kindly requests, therefore, that, by virtue of your role of monitoring all reform, rehabilitation and detention centres in the OPT, you fulfill your duty to ensure that those commissioned to execute the law do so in accordance with the provisions of Palestinian Procedural Penal Law No. 3 of 2001. This specifically relates to ensuring that detention periods are conferred in compliance with the aforementioned law, and that decisions regarding detention are made by those officials sanctioned to do so, namely those from the office of the Attorney General.

Al-Haq further kindly asks you to intervene by issuing orders to effect the release of all detainees who were detained in violation of the guarantees and procedures enshrined in the law. In this regard, we refer particularly to those detained without an arrest warrant from the Attorney General or an extension warrant from the appropriate court. We also call on you to ensure close monitoring of the conditions of those detained by the Palestinian security forces so as to ensure that their fundamental rights are respected.

Kind regards,
Hana A'mer, Advocate
Al-Haq