Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR) and the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) have submitted a joint complaint to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Violence against Women and Human Rights Defenders concerning the frequent targeting of the Palestinian human rights defender, Mrs Manal Tamimi, by Israeli military authorities.
Mrs Tamimi is prominent human rights defender through her involvement in the weekly peaceful protests in the small West Bank Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh. These demonstrations started in 2009 after the illegal Jewish settlement of Halamish began its seizure of ‘Ayn al-Kus, the natural spring resting on the land of Mr Bashir Tamimi, and used by the entire village for irrigation for many generations.
Mrs Tamimi has been subjected to a series of harassment incidents by Israeli military authorities since 2010 in apparent connection with her peaceful protest work. Our complaint documents the most recent targeting incident on 3 April 2015, which involved Mrs Tamimi being shot with live ammunition, resulting in serious injury to her leg, while attending a protest demonstration in Nabi Saleh.
Mrs Tamimi had her back to Israeli soliders and was chatting to two women in the middle of the group of demonstrators when she was shot. She was hit by a live bullet which penetrated her leg and went out through the other side. She was taken to the hospital in Ramallah where doctors informed her that she would need to be in plaster for at least 3 months and would need physiotherapy before she would be able to walk normally. Mrs Tamimi was confined to bed with severe pain for the first 3 weeks after a blood clot formed just above the bullet wound.
LPHR and WCLAC are seriously concerned that the shooting and frequent targeting of Mrs Tamimi by the Israeli military authorities amounts to an illegitimate and grave interference with her fundamental right to freedom of demonstration as provided for by international law. We have accordingly urged the Special Rapporteurs to undertake an urgent investigation of Mrs Tamimi’s case and make contact with the government of Israel to ensure that her treatment by Israeli authorities is consistent with fundamental rights guarantees contained within international human rights law.
LPHR and WCLAC have further requested that the Special Rapporteurs consider urging the Israeli military authorities to repeal Military Order 101 on the basis that this unjust law is repeatedly used to unjustifiably and substantially infringe upon the fundamental right to protest guaranteed by international human rights law.
Contact information:
Tareq Shrourou, LPHR, London |
Salwa Duaibis, WCLAC, Ramallah |
About Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR)
LPHR is a legal charity in the United Kingdom that works on projects to protect and promote Palestinian human rights.
About Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
WCLAC is an independent Palestinian, not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation that seeks to develop a democratic Palestinian society based on the principles of gender equality and social justice.