Prominent French-Palestinian human rights lawyer Salah Hamouri (Photo by AFP)

Ramallah, October 5 (RHC)-- Israeli prison authorities have taken a series of repressive measures against prominent French-Palestinian human rights defender Salah Hamouri, after he started an open-ended hunger strike in protest against the regime’s  policy of detention without charge or trial.

Hamouri’s lawyer reported the mistreatment after he visited him in the maximum security prison Hadarim in the northern occupied West Bank, where he is held in solitary confinement under a so-called administrative detention order, Quds Press reported.

According to his lawyer, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has transferred Hamouri to solitary confinement three days after he started his hunger strike, adding that he is now isolated in a 2x2-square-meter cell that lacks ventilation.  His lawyer further noted that other punitive measures imposed on Hamouri include depriving him of outdoor time or activity and family visits and the right to purchase supplies.

Hamouri is suffering from back, joint and head pains. He only drinks water and refuses any medical examination.  The 37-year old rights lawyer was arrested on March 7. He has been on strike against his detention without charge or trial since September 25th, along with 29 other administrative detainees.

According to sources, Israel has extended Hamouri’s detention twice, the first time in June and the second time on September 5th.  There are reportedly more than 7,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Hundreds of the inmates have been incarcerated under the practice of "administrative detention." Some prisoners have been held without a charge for up to 11 years.

Palestinians and human rights groups say the detention policy violates the right to due process since the evidence is withheld from prisoners while they are held for lengthy periods without being charged, tried, or convicted.

The detention takes place on orders from a military commander and on the basis of what the Israeli regime describes as secret evidence.  Palestinian prisoners are kept under deplorable conditions lacking proper hygienic standards. They have also been subjected to systematic torture, harassment, and repression.