Nelson Mandela and Aung Suu Kyi are known worldwide as prisoners of conscience who have spent lengthy periods in prison for standing up for their beliefs. South African political prisoner and later President Mandela spent 27 years in prison, many of them in solitary confinement; Aung San Suu Kyi, a political prisoner in Burma, spent almost 15 years under house arrest. Their time imprisoned was well publicised over the years and an international movement of supporters campaigned endlessly for their release.

In stark contrast, there is near silence from the international community on the 133 Palestinian political prisoners who have been held in Israeli jails for two decades or more. They have endured unjust trials and harsh prison conditions; they receive inadequate medical and psychological care, and many are in solitary confinement. Most of these prisoners were detained as young boys and young men and have reached their late 30s and 40s having spent their entire adult life in prison, with little or no contact with their loved ones and the outside world.

The Middle East Monitor will be profiling 25 of these Palestinian prisoners over the coming weeks, bringing an end to their anonymity and highlighting the injustices that these men and their families face at the hands of the state of Israel. 

Wael Salih al Barghuthi - Imprisoned 4-4-1978 - View Profile
Fakhri Asfour al Barghuthi - Imprisoned 23-6-1978 - View Profile
Akram Mansour - Imprisoned 2-8-1979 - View Profile
Fuad Qasim al Razim - Imprisoned 30-1-1981 - View Profile
Ibrahim Jabir - Imprisoned 8-1-1982 - View Profile
Hasan Salameh - Imprisoned 8-8-1982 - View Profile
Othman Musleh - Imprisoned 15-10-1982 - View Profile
Sami Younis - Imprisoned 1983 - View Profile
Karim Yunus - Imprisoned 1983 - View Profile
Maher Yunus - Imprisoned 1983 - View Profile
Salim Kayal - Imprisoned 30-5-1983 - View Profile
Hafiz Qundus - Imprisoned 15-5-1984 - View Profile
Issa A Rabbo - Imprisoned 20-10-1984 - View Profile
Ahmed Fareed Muhammad Shehadeh - Imprisoned 16-2-1985 - View Profile
Muhammad Nasr - Imprisoned 11-5-1985 - View Profile
Rafe' Karajeh - Imprisoned 20-5-1985 - View Profile
Talal Abu al Kabash - Imprisoned 23-6-1985 - View Profile
Mustafa Ghunaymat - Imprisoned 27-6-1985
Ziad Mahmoud Mohammed Ghunimat - Imprisoned 27-6-1985 - View Profile
Uthman Abdullah Bani Husayn - Imprisoned 27-7-1985
Haza' Muhammad Haza' Sa'adi - Imprisoned 28-7-1985 - View Profile
Siddqui Sulayman Ahmad al Maqt - Imprisoned 23-8-1985 - View Profile
Hani Badawi Muhammad Jaber - Imprisoned 3-9-1985 - View Profile
Muhammad Ahmad Abdul Hameed al Tous - Imprisoned 6-10-1985
Nafiz Ahmad Talib Harz - Imprisoned 25-11-1985 - View Profile
Fa'iz Mutawi' al Khour - Imprisoned 29-11-1985
Ghazi Jumu'ah al Nams - Imprisoned 30-11-1985
Muhammad Misbah Ashour - Imprisoned 18-2-1986
Ahmad Abdur Rahman Abu Hasireh - Imprisoned 18-2-1986
Muhammad Abdul Hadi al Hassani - Imprisoned 4-3-1986