Israel’s High Court ordered the state to prove there is a proper judicial review process in place for Sudanese detainees. On Wednesday, the court gave the government 45 days to explain why Sudanese jailed for illegally entering the country are treated as infiltrators from an enemy state. This follows a petition by Tel Aviv University’s Refugee Rights Program and the Hotline for Migrant Workers, who argued that the Sudanese should enjoy the same rights as those charged with the more basic violation of illegal entry to Israel.
About 300 Sudanese have arrived in Israel over the past 2 1/2 years via Egypt, fleeing genocide in the Darfur region and religious persecution. They have been classified as infiltrators from an enemy country because Sudan maintains a state of war with Israel.
“We have finally reached the tipping point,” said Eitan Shwartz, a spokesman for CARD, an umbrella organization of nongovernmental organizations fighting for the release of the Sudanese prisoners.
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