On Jan 12, 2020, UNJPPI wrote a letter to The Hon. Karina Gould, P.C., M.P.
Minister for International Development with the subject: Issa Amro and Canadian Funding for Courts in the West Bank

Excerpt:

Issa Amro is a very recent example of the oppression that is experienced by Palestinians in Israeli military courts. Mr. Amro is a Palestinian human rights
activist. He is the co-founder of Youth Against Settlements in Hebron and is formally acknowledged as a Palestinian Human Rights Defender. In 2010 he was recognized by the United Nations as “Human Rights Defender of the Year”.

Mr. Amro’s trial before the military court on 16 charges had been ongoing since August 2016. Amnesty International said the charges against him were “politically motivated and linked to his peaceful work in exposing Israel’s human rights violations”. They also described the charges as “baseless” and “physically impossible”.

Nonetheless, on January 6 the military court convicted Mr. Amro of 3 counts of “participating in a rally without a permit,” 2 counts of “obstructing a
soldier,” and 1 count of “assault”. He is scheduled for sentencing on February 8th. 

Mr. Amro is not the first human rights defender working on behalf of Palestinians to have been tried in Israeli military courts. Many others have suffered a similar fate, as have thousands of other Palestinians, including children. Defense for Children International – Palestine reports that up to 700 children are arrested each year. Like others arrested, they are not given prompt access to a lawyer and often suffer mistreatment amounting to torture.