ISRAEL: Leonid Kressner transferred to Military Prison No.6

Dear friends, CO Leonid Kressner was transferred several days ago to Military Prison No. 6. His new prison Address is:

Leonid Kressner Military ID 7156547 Military Prison No. 6, Military postal number 03734, IDF Israel.

Please remember to send copies of protest letters on Leonid's behalf (preferably by fax) to the commander of his new prison, i.e. to:

Commander of Military Prison No. 6, Military Prison No. 6, Military postal number 03734, IDF Israel. FAX: +972-4-869-28-84

Leonid continues to refuse wearing uniform and therefore is again held in the isolation ward of the prison.

Leonid had a hearing before the military tribunal in Haifa on Tuesday morning. The judge decided to keep Leonid in custody pending a decision on his case - a standard procedure in military judiciary practice. In the meanwhile Leonid and the lawyer appointed to him by the military legal defence office will try to obtain a recommendation to exempt him from military service. If such a recommendation will be obtained, it is almost certain that Leonid will be both exempted from the army and released from prison, however procedures may take up some time.

Andreas Speck, War Resisters' International

There is also a correction of the information on Leonid Kressner's hunger strike below:

The information regarding CO Leonid Kressner's hunger strike and force-feeding turned out to be erroneous. Here's how it happened: Leonid has been held since his imprisonment in the isolation ward of his prison. Prisoners held in the isolation ward are usually denied telephone contact with their families on a regular basis.

One of the standard ways prisoners in the ward use to overcome this problem and to pass information to their families is by asking other prisoners that they meet to call the family on their behalf. Information passed in this way is usually reliable. However, in our case, the prisoner who called the family vastly exaggerated his description of an incident Leonid had with some of the guards during one of the meals. Leonid only asked this person to tell his parents that he is alright, but the news they got were that he is on hunger strike and being force-fed.

Now, force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strike is standard procedure in Israeli military prisons. I know several COs who were force-fed personally, although all these cases date back to the mid 1990s. The information thus did not sound suspect to me. Besides, there was no way to confirm it within less than several days' time, as there is no regular telephone contact with Leonid.

On the other hand, in cases of hunger strikes and force-feeding, one does not have that much time - something should be done about this right away. So, what happened in the end is that I rang a false alarm. My apologies for that. I will do my best to be more careful in the future.

Let us also hope that contact with prisoners will be easier in the future, so that information could be confirmed before being sent out.

Sorry again and all the best,

Sergeiy Sandler - New Profile.