GLOBAL PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK: PALESTINE PRISONERS DETAINED WITHOUT CHARGE

Embarking on a hunger strike is generally accepted as being a measure of last resort against perceived injustice. This week the United Nations chief vociferously attacked Israel’s continued policy of detaining Palestinians without charge. Ban Ki-moon urged Israel to release the around 4,700 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, some of whom have been detained for several years.

It is reported that about 2,000 of those prisoners have been on hunger strike for weeks with the aim of seeking better conditions. Ban Ki-moon’s pleas seem to have fallen on deaf ears as an Israeli government spokesman, Mark Regev, seemed to indicate that giving in to the hunger strikers’ demands would be akin to presenting the prisoners with a ‘get-out-of-jail’ card.

A right to a fair trial should be one of the fundamental rights accorded every human being, and regardless of the scale of the allegations made against these men and women, they should have a right to be informed of the charges made against them and also provided an opportunity to defend themselves against the said charges. Unfortunately this is a right very much taken for granted by many of us residing in the comfort of the West.

GLOBAL PERSONALITY OF THE WEEK

Wilman Villar is 1worldinternational’s Global Personality of the Week. Mr Villar, 31, a dissident and activist in Cuba died in custody this week following a 50-day hunger strike. The Cuban government’s spin doctors have gone into overdrive pronouncing that Mr Villar had been in custody following an assault on his wife and that his death was pneumonia-related. Despite the government’s assertions, members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba have claimed Mr Villar as their own.

We echo the sentiments expressed by US President Barack Obama that “Villar's senseless death highlights the ongoing oppression of the Cuban people and the plight faced by brave individuals standing up for the universal rights of all Cubans." 1worldinternational salutes Wilman Villar even in his death for standing up for what is right and in the process giving up his life for a just cause.