06.05.2020

HaMoked to Megiddo and Ofer prisons: implement the HCJ decision and allow Palestinian minors to contact their parents by telephone without delay

On May 4, 2020, HaMoked wrote to the Megiddo and Ofer prison authorities regarding their failure to implement the decision of the High Court of Justice (HCJ), issued in HaMoked’s petition to allow “Security” inmates to have telephone contact with their families given the total isolation imposed on them during corona crisis due to the ban on visits by families and lawyers.

During the hearing of April 2, 2020, the state announced that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) issued a temporary order whereby every minor classified as a security inmate is entitled to a single supervised 10-minute telephone call once every two weeks so long as the emergency situation lasts. The court’s decision recorded the state’s clarification that no special request on part of the minor would be needed as calls would be arranged “a matter of regular procedure”.

However, families of minors held at Ofer prison told HaMoked that they had not received any telephone calls from their children – over a month since the temporary order was issued. And families of minors held in Megiddo prison told HaMoked that their children had spoken with them only once, on April 8, 2020, but had not called again – more than two weeks later.

In its letters, HaMoked stressed that these significant delays indicated the authorities of these two prisons opted not to implement the HCJ decision and the IPS temporary order. HaMoked therefore demanded that minors classified as security inmates be immediately allowed to contact their parents without further delay. HaMoked also noted that it intended to inform the court about these prisons’ conduct in this matter.