Imprisonment of conscientious objectors Amir Pastar
Use this form to send the letter below to the relevant authority (Amir Peretz, Minister of Defence, Israel). You can add your own notes in a separate box after the standard text, if you wish. You must include a name, address, and email address; a copy will be sent to you with a cc to the WRI office (so we have a record of how many email letters have been sent out for this particular case).
Dear Mr Amir Peretz, Minister of Defence
I am very concerned about the imprisonment of conscientious objector Amir Pastar.
Amir Pastar refused to join the war in Lebanon when called up for reserve duty, and was sentenced to 28 days in prison.
In doing so, Amir Pastar claims his human right to conscientious objection, as guaranteed by Article 18 of the ICCPR. His imprisonment is a violation of international legal standards.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in opinion 24/2003 on Israel came to the conclusion that the repeated imprisonment of conscientious objectors in Israel is arbitrary, and therefore it constitutes a violation of 14 par 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Israel is a signatory.
I therefore urge you to immediately release Amir Pastar, and all imprisoned conscientious objectors. I urge you to respect human rights.
- Sign and send this protest email