Detained Aussie-Israeli on hunger strike
JERUSALEM – Australian-Israeli citizen Evyatar Slonim has started a hunger strike in an Israeli prison to protest his detention without charge.
JERUSALEM – Australian-Israeli citizen Evyatar Slonim has started a hunger strike in an Israeli prison to protest his detention without charge.
The 23-year-old was arrested when a crackdown on Jewish extremists began last August. He is due to be freed on Thursday, but fears that the government will use its power to detain him without charge for a further six months.
He stopped eating and drinking on Saturday, joining the hunger strike of another right-wing activist in administrative detention Meir Ettinger, the grandson of the late far-right activist Meir Kahane.
A family member told The AJN in Jerusalem: “We understand that this is a last resort in his battle to see that justice and truth come to light; however, we are extremely concerned for his wellbeing.”
Meanwhile, Slonim’s parents Ze’ev and Gila – West Bank settlers who are originally from Melbourne – have been trying a different channel to influence the government: the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv.
They have written to Australia’s ambassador Dave Sharma, urging him to use his influence to help their son. “We are Australian citizens and therefore turn to you, even if only to ask the correct questions, express your horror and concern at the unjust treatment that an Australian citizen has been given,” they wrote.
“Our son has not committed a crime and he does not deserve to be behind bars. Please assist our family in any way that you can to see that Israel fulfils its moral and democratic duty of releasing Evyatar or giving him a fair trial immediately.”
Slonim’s parents thanked Sharma for the two visits that their son received from an embassy representative, writing that they represented “a ray of sunshine” in his “miserable cell life”. They bemoaned the conduct of the Israeli justice system, writing that they have “little faith” in it.
The Shin Bet has linked Slonim to a violent, ultranationalist group known as The Revolt, and claims that it uses its power to detain without trial sparingly, when it is important for security reasons. He was arrested after the fatal arson attack on a Palestinian home in July, but the Shin Bet has not clarified whether he was arrested in relation to this incident – for which an alleged perpetrator has now been indicted – or others.
The family member claimed that Slonim had been linked to the Duma arson by suggestion, even though he had no role, saying: “It was known all along that he was not associated with the arson in Duma, and for some reason he was chosen as a scapegoat to show the world that Israel has taken action against perpetrators of this crime.
“It was all about making it appear that Evyatar was involved though never explicitly stating it, because there was no case. Why was Evyatar chosen as the victim of the administrative detention order? That is something that we are still trying to fathom.”
Israel’s Ministry of Justice told The AJN that it does not know whether Slonim is to walk free, clarifying only that release is due for February 4 while the Defence Ministry has the power to extend detention.
NATHAN JEFFAY
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