Adalah Seeks Cancellation of Ban on Education Programs for Political Prisoners
Yesterday, Adalah filed four prisoner's petitions to the Nazareth District Court on behalf of four political prisoners, against the Prisons Authority and the Open University of Israel. The petitions seek to cancel the decision of the Prisons Authority to prohibit political prisoners from registering for certain Open University courses, or from completing courses in which they are already registered.
Over the past several months, the Prisons Authority has begun to prevent political prisoners from enrolling in more than 24 correspondence courses offered by the Open University. Titles of prohibited courses include "Between State and Society: The Sociology of the Politics," "Democracy and National Security in Israel," "Religion and Politics," "Social Movements and Political Protest," "Introduction to the History of the Middle East," and "Introduction to Psychology." In other cases, the Prisons Authority has deleted portions of course syllabi, and has confiscated course materials sent to prisoners by the University.
Under the new policy, political prisoners are now required to submit their enrollment applications through the Prisons Authority, rather than directly to the Open University as they had previously done. The Prison Authority's policy is also being applied unevenly; in some cases, courses that are prohibited at one prison are permitted at others.
In response to inquiries about the new policy, the Prisons Authority issued a general statement alleging that materials associated with the prohibited courses may lead to incitement, and may constitute a threat to the security of the prison and the state. The Prisons Authority did not respond to the prisoners' or Adalah's request for a list of prohibited courses.
In the four petitions, Adalah Staff Attorney Abeer Baker argued that:
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All individuals are entitled to basic rights; incarceration alone does not strip an individual of all of his or her rights. While incarcerated, prisoners lose their right to liberty; however, all other rights should be protected to the greatest extent possible.
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The Prisons Authority's policy is arbitrary and disproportionate. According to Supreme Court case law pertaining to principles of fairness, reasonableness, and proportionality in administrative decision-making, the Prisons Authority may not deny or restrict the rights of prisoners without a strong justification for doing so. No evidence was provided by the Prisons Authority to demonstrate a relationship between the prohibited courses and threats to the security of the prison or the state.
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The Prisons Authority policy violates the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (1992), in particular the right to dignity, which includes the rights to education and freedom of speech.
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The Prison Authority's policy, which is applied only to political prisoners, also violates their rights to equality. Although Supreme Court case law allows political prisoners to be treated differently in some instances for security reasons, Adalah argued that there is no basis for treating political prisoners differently in this instance, since the Prisons Authority has not demonstrated a connection between the prohibited academic courses and security considerations.
- Education of prisoners plays a significant role in rehabilitation and in decreasing recidivism.
