Hussam Shaheen, the elected
leader of Fateh Youth Organisation in Jerusalem, was arrested on 28 January 2004 by the
Israeli army from Ramallah. He remains detained in the Maskoubiya (Russian Compound)
Israeli interrogation/torture prison in Jerusalem, while being denied all visits by his
lawyers.
In March, Hussam will turn 32. Despite his young age, he has a long
political history in peace activism.
Hussam was 14 years old when he was first
arrested during the 1987 Intifada for throwing stones in the direction of heavily armed
Israeli soldiers. Like many other Palestinian school students detained by the Israeli
occupation, he sat his high school exams inside an Israeli prison. He spent at least 5
years in prison, and at one point Hussam was detained with his father in the same cell.
In 1992, Hussam joined the Palestinian Center for the Study of Non-Violence (PCSN)
after the General Federation of Palestinian Students (GFPS) in Jerusalem, which he headed
at the time, was forcefully closed down by the Israeli army.
In 1994, Hussam became
a full member of the centre in charge of all youth projects and in 1996 he was nominated
for the Reebok Human Rights Award based on his great involvement in nonviolent action and
his belief in peaceful coexistence and the need to develop means of communication with the
enemy.
During this time, Hussam arranged monthly meetings between Palestinian and
Israeli youth groups and organized summer camps where young Palestinians and Israelis would
get to meet one another and share experiences, in search for a common ground for the
development of future relations based on the principles of human rights, equality and
freedom.
Foreign Youth groups such as the Young Falcons from France, the IGJD from
Germany and other international and Israeli youth organizations participated in these
camps. Hussam’s role in these camps, as many would testify, was indispensable. He was
involved in administrative procedures and mediation sessions as well as guiding tour trips
to refugee camps and settlements.
Hussam was also closely involved in workshops for
training Palestinian youth conflict resolution and non-violence. Those trained in such
workshops became themselves trainers of other young Palestinians in refugee camps and
villages throughout the West Bank.
We will keep you updated on the most information.
