Administrative detention is a procedure that allows the Israeli military to hold detainees on ‘secret evidence’ without charging them or allowing them to stand trial. Administrative detention orders can last for six months, but are renewable indefinitely. Administrative detention orders are frequently renewed on or just before the expiry date.

Administrative detention was first used in Palestine by the British colonial authorities in 1937. When Israel declared statehood, it adopted some of the British legal code, including the laws around administrative detention, adjusting them to fit the new colonial reality.

International law permits the use of administrative detention in emergency circumstances. However, Israel uses it systematically and as a punitive measure.

Israel’s excessive use of administrative detention is a violation of international law.

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Every political prisoner has a story; a family who misses them, friends who remember them and communities who gather and rally for their safety and freedom.