Woman human rights defender Shatha Odeh released after 11 months of imprisonment on condition of not continuing her human rights work

Court hearings that were scheduled for  17th and 20th January 2022 at Ofer Mlitary Court, for woman human rights defender Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh have been postponed. The reason for the postponements was neither given to the woman human rights defenders lawyers nor to her family but the family have learned from other sources that it  was due to the fact that Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh has contracted COVID and is in isolation. The health condition of the woman human right defender remain unknown. She is currently detained in Damoun Female Prison in Haifa, with her next hearingdue to take place on 1 February.

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Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh is a woman human rights defender and the Director of the Health Work Committee, an organisation working to deliver health services to Palestinians in remote areas of the West Bank. The health organisation focuses on many issues including women’s and children’s health.

Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh's  family were not officially notified of the reason for the postponement of thehearings, but through sources they have learned that she has contracted COVID-19 and is currently in isolation. Over the past three months, Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh family were only able to contact her on the phone twice, respectively on 13 December 2021 and on 4 January 2022. They are not being kept informed of her health and well-being, which causes great concern to them as she is older and suffers from underlying health conditions, including hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, and irritable bowel syndrome. They have to rely on Facebook post from lawyers visiting the prison to hear about the  general well being of the woman human rights defender.  Israeli Prison have authorities denied Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh request for one of her medications and was only given access to it on 15th July 2021 after her lawyer presented a report explaining its importance. Since the start of her detention, Shatha Odeh Abu Fannounehhas lost about twenty kilos.

In the early hours of 7 July 2021, Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh was forcibly and arbitrarily removed from her house in Ramallah, Palestine, and has remained in detention since. On 26 July 2021, during the third hearing of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh the military prosecution presented five charges against her including “holding a position in an unlawful association”, “presence in a public event on 14 May 2019”, “receiving and bringing funds illegally into the area”, “receiving funds and support fraudulently” and “the fraudulent use of documents”. The charges brought against the woman human rights defender are linked to an announcement by the Israeli military commander on 22 January 2020, in which he stated that the HWC was an “unlawful organisation”.

Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned regarding the heath of of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh. and believes that the detention of the woman human rights defender is solely based on her peaceful and legitimate human rights work, and that the charges against her reflect both an escalating policy by Israeli authorities of criminalizing Palestinian human rights defenders and organisations on terrorism-related charges.

On 8 July 2021, the Ofer Military Court rescheduled the hearing session of woman human rights defender Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh to 14 July 2021. The woman human rights defender was detained on 7 July 2021 at her house in Ramallah, as part of a wider crackdown against the Health Work Committee. Juana Ruiz Sánchez, the project coordinator of the organisation has been detained since 13 April 2021.

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Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh is a woman human rights defender and the Director of the Health Work Committee, an organisation working to deliver health services to Palestinians in remote areas of the West Bank. The organisation focuses specifically on women’s and children’s health. Juana Ruiz Sánchez is a Spanish woman human rights defender, she has been working in the Health Work Committee for almost 28 years, she worked as the project coordinator in the organisation.

On 7 July 2021, early in the morning, approximately 15 soldiers raided the house of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh. The soldiers separated the family from the woman human rights defender, and detained her. The family reported that a female soldier was accompanying Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh and heard her shouting at the woman human rights defender. The soldiers also confiscated Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh’s phone and car which belong to the Health Work Committee. The woman human rights defender was taken to Ofer prison, where there is no women’s section. On the same day she was transferred to Hasharon prison, located in Israel, which is a breach of International Humanitarian Law, as the IV Geneva Convention prohibits transferring prisoners outside their territories. The woman human rights defender has a medical condition which requires 8 pills daily, and regular medical examinations. She is not allowed to take her medication now, as the Israeli authorities have refused the entry of her medications into the prison. She was not allowed to meet with her lawyer until her hearing session, and she was only allowed to contact one of her family members briefly.

On 8 July 2021, the first hearing session of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh was supposed to be held in front of the Ofer Military Court, however, her hearing was rescheduled to 14 July 2021. No charges have been submitted against the woman human rights defender yet.

The detention of Shatha Odeh Abu Fannouneh is part of a wider crackdown against the Health Work Committee. On 9 June 2021, the Israeli army raided the organisation’s headquarter in Ramallah, and ordered the closure of the organisation for six months. During the raid, the soldiers confiscated several items belonging to the organisation, including computers and documents. The raid caused several damages in the organisation’s building, including breaking the door to the building.

The crackdown also included the earlier detention of woman human rights defender Juana Ruiz Sánchez. Juana Ruiz Sánchez has been in detention since 13 April 2021 and is facing the charges of "participating in the activities of an illegal organisation", "being part of the board of directors of an illegal organisation", "receiving and introducing money into the Palestinian territories" and of "receiving money for a false purpose”, which are based on her work for the Health Work Committee. Juana Ruiz Sánchez has had very limited access to her lawyer and family, and she was kept in solitary confinement for approximately 20 days. The UN Human Rights Committee has in recent years denounced the use of solitary confinement, noting that “prolonged solitary confinement of the detained or imprisoned person may amount to acts prohibited by article 7,” which is the prohibition of acts of torture. The woman human rights defender is currently detained in Al-Damoun women’s prison.

The ongoing judicial harassments have also included the detention of the organisation’s accountant, Tayseer abu Sharbak, who was detained on 8 March 2021 and is being held in Ofer prison. He is facing the charges of “participating in the activities of an illegal organisation” as well as charges relating to terrorism, because of his work with the Health Work Committee. He has since had contact with his lawyer, however, his family have not been able to see him due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned regarding the detention and ill-treatment of the women human rights defenders, and the other staff members of the Health Work Committee. Front Line Defenders believes that their detention is solely based on their peaceful and legitimate human rights work.