Attention News Editors:

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights - ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES ABDUCT JAGGI SINGH 

MONTREAL, Jan. 9 /CNW Telbec/ - Israeli undercover police abducted Canadian activist Jaggi Singh in Jerusalem, and imprisoned him for unspecified charges. He is currently being held in the 'Russian Compound', a notorious Israeli jail in Jerusalem in which Palestinian detainees are regularly tortured, according Amnesty International and Btselem. Jaggi Singh traveled to Palestine on December 14th 2002 to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation and participate in the activities of the International Solidarity Movement. On his arrival he was detained In Tel Aviv, eventually winning a stay of his deportation under the condition that he not enter the occupied territories, an edict he defied on the grounds that it "normalized Israel's occupation" of these lands.

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights and the International Solidarity Movement condemn this arrest as unjust and clearly political. Mr. Singh's condition imposed by Israeli courts not to enter the Occupied Territories during his visit is illegal according to Canadian and International Law as Israel has no has absolutely no legal authority over the Palestinian Territories and therefore cannot decide who is allowed entry and who is not. In the event of Mr. Singh's arrest Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) will be following up a legal complaint concerning the Canadian Government complicity in Jaggi's previous detention in Israel and current jailing.

The press conference will be held at 1:00pm on Thursday January 8th, 2002 at 1118 St. Catherine West, in suite 300.

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For further information:

The International Solidarity Movement - Stefan Christoff (514)-583-2209