A Prisoner to Remember
marwan
- August 26, 2026
From Amira Amira
On this day in August 1968, one of the most famous cases of attempted abortion of a pregnant prisoner in an Israeli detention center occurred. The story, widely reported in the press, involved the Palestinian activist and former prisoner, Abla Shafiq Taha, from Hebron, sister of the martyr Ali Taha, commander of the Sabena operation in 1972. She was assaulted by a group of Israeli women detained in the same cell, on the orders of the interrogators, to pressure her into confessing. The beating and kicking took place while guards watched. This crime occurred in the Al-Maskubiya prison in Jerusalem. Several women were present during the trial, including Fadwa Tuqan. She was subsequently sentenced to four years in prison and then deported to Jordan with her husband. Deportation did not deter her from continuing her activism. She continued her grassroots work in the Al-Wehdat refugee camp and later became a member of the Palestinian National Council in 1977.
