On September 26, 2019, Ma’an Abu Hafez was released to the West Bank and returned to his home and family, after he was held for over two and a half years in prison as an “illegal alien” pending deportation. This is the successful outcome of HaMoked’s sustained and determined efforts to secure his release.
Ma’an’s release was achieved as a result of the High Court hearing of September 19, 2019, concerning
HaMoked’s petition to compel the military to allow the young Palestinian man to receive status in the oPt, his only home since the age of three. HaMoked petitioned the High Court of Justice (HCJ) on Ma’an’s behalf after the Tribunal for Review of Custody of Illegal Aliens repeatedly rejected HaMoked’s requests for his release, on dubious grounds and contrary to the prohibition on such lengthy administrative incarceration of this type. In the framework of the HCJ hearing, following the justices’ pressure for a practical solution, the parties reached an agreement that once Ma’an applied for a Brazilian passport, the military would issue him a visitor permit for the oPt, valid for one year, and he could then be released. According to the judgment issued that same day: “the petitioner will be released without delay… to return to the Area [i.e., the West Bank] and pursue the legalization of his status. The parties will collaborate to obtain his release from custody as soon as possible”. The parties later agreed that Ma’an would be released before the issuance of a visitor permit, and that the state would provide him with a letter guaranteeing not to deport him in the interim.
