Repressive Measures in 'Ofer' Prison: Occupation Withholds Adhan Timings from Prisoners in Ramadan

Legal sources affiliated with the Prisoners' Affairs Commission revealed a new escalation in the repressive measures adopted by the 'Ofer' prison administration against Palestinian prisoners, coinciding with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. The sources explained that the occupation authorities have begun imposing restrictions directly aimed at limiting the practice of religious rituals inside the detention center, reflecting a systematic policy to increase psychological and physical pressure on those behind bars during these blessed days.

Among the most prominent of these violations is the prison administration's deliberate refusal to inform prisoners of the timings for the dawn (Fajr) and sunset (Maghrib) calls to prayer (adhan), which deprives them of knowing the correct legitimate times to begin or break their fast. This practice disrupts the prisoners' daily routine, as they find it extremely difficult to organize their meals and perform their prayers on time, representing a blatant assault on their most basic internationally guaranteed rights.

The Commission affirmed that this step comes within a long series of collective punishments aimed at isolating the prisoner from their spiritual and temporal environment, and confiscating their fundamental rights guaranteed by international agreements. Withholding the prayer timings is not merely an administrative procedure; rather, it is a means of moral torture aimed at depriving prisoners of their connection to the spiritualities associated with this holy month, thereby increasing the daily suffering inside the detention cells.

In a related context, reports indicated that the already harsh conditions experienced by prisoners inside 'Ofer' prison have worsened with these new measures that directly affect freedom of worship. The Commission considers that the international community's silence on such practices encourages the occupation authorities to innovate in methods of repression, warning of the health and psychological repercussions that prisoners may suffer as a result of irregular meals in an environment lacking the most basic human necessities.

The Prisoners' Affairs Commission called on all international and human rights institutions, especially the Red Cross, to intervene immediately and urgently to put an end to these transgressions that violate the conventions guaranteeing prisoners' right to worship. The Commission stressed the necessity of obliging the occupation prison administration to respect the religious rituals of prisoners and to stop using religion as a tool for punishment and pressure, emphasizing that the occupation's practices disregard all human and legal norms.

The prison administration uses all means to repress prisoners and deprive them of the most basic elements for practicing their religious rituals, in violation of international norms and conventions.