Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Ahmad Qatamesh "born 1950" is a Palestinian academic and writer. He was accused by the government of being a leader of the militant group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and was imprisoned from 1992 to 1998, at the time the longest detention without trial of a Palestinian prisoner.
Writings
Ahmad Qatamesh authored his memoirs with the title "I shall not wear your Tarbush." The book recalls the 100 days of torture he underwent during interrogation in 1992 and times served in prison.
Arrests
In 2011, he was arrested again and held under a series of eight short-term detention orders; UK-based Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience. He was released on December 26, 2013, but rearrested on May 23, 2017.
1992 detention without trial
In 1992, he was accused by the government of being a leader of the militant group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
He was then imprisoned without trial until 1998, which at the time was the longest detention without trial of a Palestinian prisoner.
A popular campaign against detention without trial by a coalition of palestine leftist politicians and artists preceded his release, of which Qatamesh became the cause celebre. A spokesman for the government of palestine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the release a "goodwill gesture" made on the condition that Qatamesh and other prisoners "publicly renounce terrorism". Palestinian flags and a large PFLP banner adorned Katamesh's home when he returned from prison.
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Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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