EU parliamentarians call for immediate release of Palestinian MPs

Palestinian Parliament speaker Aziz Dweik is being held by Israel along with dozens of other parliamentarians
STRASBOURG, February 1, 2012 (WAFA) – A group of 26 members of the European Parliament Wednesday called on Israel to release 26 Palestinian lawmakers it is holding in prison, including the speaker of the Palestinian parliament.

In a letter of appeal, the 26 European Union parliamentarians, who represent a broad spectrum of the European parties, urged “the EU and its Member States to take immediate action” in order to ensure the release of all detained members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).

They recalled the European Parliament resolution of September 4, 2008 calling for “the immediate release of the imprisoned members of the Palestinian Legislative Council including Marwan Barghouti.”

The EU lawmakers condemned the arrest of PLC speaker Aziz Dweik, who was arrested two weeks ago and sentenced to six months in administrative detention without charge or trial, as well as arrest of the lawmakers from Jerusalem taken from the premises of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

They described these arrests as “unacceptable and provocative,” particularly plans to expel the Jerusalem lawmakers from their city of residence. more

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