Petition: Demand Israel free Mahmoud Abujoad Frarjah

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights we call on you to demand Israel immediately free Mahmoud Abujoad Frarjah.

Palestinian Mahmoud Abujoad Frarjah was arrested by the Israeli Occupational Forces on 9th September 2015 as he made his way to Jordan with his wife Sireen. He stood accused of throwing a stone on a demonstration he did not attend.

Since his arrest, Mahmoud’s treatment by the Israeli legal system has been Kafkaesque and he has still not been given a sentence. Every time he visits the court the judge merely sets another date.

At recent hearings his lawyer repeatedly asked the prosecution to name the date on which Mahmoud allegedly threw the stone. Finally, during a court hearing on 13th January, the date was revealed: the 14th August 2014, the day of Mahmoud’s engagement party.

This new evidence is further proof that Mahmoud is being held on trumped up charges because of his non-violent resistance to Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank.

In addition, Mahmoud has been transferred to Remon prison in southern Israel. The transfer of prisoners from an occupied territory into the territory of the occupier is illegal under the Geneva Convention.

We call on Israel to release Mahmoud immediately so he can be reunited with his wife and family. We also call for an end to Israel’s arbitrary detention of Palestinians without trial.