Fatah insists 'there are no political prisoners'

No promises were made to meet pro-unity protestors’ demands, and no political prisoners were being held, a Fatah official told Ma’an Thursday.

Ma’an released documents Tuesday, which March 15 demonstrators say detail the names, detention dates and court verdicts ordering the release of 23 men being held illegally by the Palestinian Authority, and whom Abbas promised to release.

Fatah secretary in Ramallah Raed Radwan told Ma’an, “We are not committed to the period which the youth assigned [to release the men], but we are committed to using that time to preparing answers for their questions," adding that all those in PA custody were there under legitimate charges.

An initial check of the names on the list of political prisoners handed over by unity protesters, he said, revealed that several had been released, while others had voluntarily chosen to stay in custody as "protection from Israel."

Protesters say men on the list, like Hasan Zagha, are bona fide political prisoners who must be released. In February 2010, Zagha was detained by PA officers, after an army court sentenced him to two years. The Ramallah High Court ruled his arrest illegal, but its decision was never implemented.

Radwan refuted the story, saying Abbas had stopped the use of military court trials.

He also said that protesters misunderstood Abbas during their April 3 meeting with the President, adding that just because there was a meeting, it did not mean Abbas had meant to agree to their demands.

On March 15, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the West Bank and Gaza demanding an end to division between Fatah and Hamas via new elections for the Palestinian National Council. Members of the March 15 movement have been on hunger strike since March 26. They are demanding that Palestinian leaders release all political prisoners and head back to the unity negotiations table, ending for good Palestinian division which saw the administrative split of the West Bank and Gaza in 2007.

The strikers say President Mahmoud Abbas promised to free the prisoners within 48 hours in their April meeting.

Radwan told Ma’an that an investigation would be carried out, and "in the next 24 hours, PA security forces will hand over a list to Abbas," which will compared to the protestors’ list.

The official said that Secretary-General of the Presidency, Tayeb Abdul-Rahim, was as promised following up with the file of the list of detainees.

"The leadership should hear the people ... young protesters should continue their actions until the end of division [is reached] ... but they should present solutions, not just problems," Radwan said.