This Prominent Palestinian Woman Activist Politician Detained By Israel Without Charge Has Been Released
Khalida Jarrar has been held in administrative detention, without charges or trial, since Dec. 26, 2023.
61-year-old Khalida Jarrar, leader of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a women’s rights activist was one of the most prominent prisoners released by Israel on Sunday, Jan. 20 as part of the ceasefire deal.
Jarrar has been held in administrative detention, without charges or trial, since Dec. 26, 2023.
Jarrar has been an outspoken critic of Israeli policies, having been elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 2006 and has served as the head of the Prisoners Committee.
Throughout her career, she played a significant role in Palestine's application to join the International Criminal Court in 2015.
Jarrar was first detained in 1989 for participating in a demonstration and has since faced numerous stints in Israeli prisons, often under administrative detention without formal charges.
In 2021, the Israeli Prison Service also denied Jarrar from attending her daughter's funeral in July 2021, saying she poses a “security threat due to her leadership role.”
She has been enduring “harsh conditions” and held in solitary confinement for the last six months in a 1 meter to1.5 meter cell at Ayalon (Ramla) prison, where there was “barely enough space for a mattress”, according to Addameer.
In addition, clothes, hygiene products, food and water were all severely restricted.
She was finally released on Sunday, Jan. 21, along with 89 other prisoners, mostly women, as part of a prisoner exchange deal on phase one of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
There are still more than 10,400 political prisoners held in Israel, many of whom are under administrative detention, according to Addameer.
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