On June 1, ACRI petitioned the Tel Aviv District Court on behalf of three female inmates from the Neve Tirza Prison against new regulations, which prevent prisoners from receiving books and CDs from visitors, and sets a limit of one book and ten music CDs allowed for each inmate to hold in her cell.
ACRI Attorney Lila Margalit stated that the regulations, which came into effect in recent months, force inmates to rely on the limited collection of books in the prison library. Neve Tirza Prison holds at present some 1,000 books, of which 80% are in Hebrew, and only 18% in Russian and 2% in Arabic.
“These severe restrictions on access to books and music violates the fundamental right to freedom of expression and the right to attain education and knowledge”, said Margalit. “In addition, it goes against the public interest of rehabilitation of prisoners. The restriction is not only about the quantity but also about quality, as it forces prison inmates to rely on books chosen by the Prison Authority. The small number of books in Russian, Arabic, and other languages entails discrimination against those who cannot and do not wish to read in Hebrew”.
