Palestinian prisoners set free to die
Palestinian prisoners set free to die
Israel accused by Palestinian group of allowing the condition of Palestinian prisoners to deteriorate to the point of death before freeing them.
2 min read
Critically ill Palestinians are often released from prison shortly before they die [AFP]
Palestinian prisoners suffer physical and psychological effects of Israeli prisons long after their release.
One example is Mohammad al-Taj who is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis. Taj developed the disease while in an Israeli prison. He was released in 2013 after his condition deteriorated to the point that Israeli doctors warned he might die.
Currently in Ramallah hospital, where doctors lack the resources to treat his disease, he is waiting for documents so he can travel to Germany for treatment.
"The Israel government will not release any prisoner who is sick until their health condition deteriorates so much they could die at any moment," according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees & Ex-Detainees Affairs (CDEDA), an arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Over the last three years Israel has released a number of sick prisoners, some who died a few months later. They include Ashraf Abu Thrai, Zuhair Labbada, Hassan al-Turabi, Mohammad al-Amla and Sultan al-Wali, according to CDEDA. The commission also confirms none of them were ill before their arrest, but they became sick during their imprisonment.
Many prisoners are afraid they will be treated in the same way as Zuhair Labbada, who was already ill when he was arrested on 7 December 2011. His condition quickly deteriorated and he fell into a coma. In May 2012 he was discharged, and a week later died in a Nablus hospital.
Freed prisoner Othman al-Khalili, aged 35, lies in bed in his house in Nablus. He tell al-Araby al-Jadeed he was hit in the back with a bullet and paralysed before his arrest. After remaining in an Israeli prison for three years he was released to die.
Another prisoner who has been freed, Omar Afana, says there are 12 prisoners currently on the brink of death in Ramla prison likely to be released before they die.
Afana claims Israel has no programme for treating sick prisoners. In extreme conditions prisoners are given tranquillisers, and they are rarely allowed to see specialist doctors.
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
One example is Mohammad al-Taj who is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis. Taj developed the disease while in an Israeli prison. He was released in 2013 after his condition deteriorated to the point that Israeli doctors warned he might die.
Currently in Ramallah hospital, where doctors lack the resources to treat his disease, he is waiting for documents so he can travel to Germany for treatment.
"The Israel government will not release any prisoner who is sick until their health condition deteriorates so much they could die at any moment," according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees & Ex-Detainees Affairs (CDEDA), an arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Over the last three years Israel has released a number of sick prisoners, some who died a few months later. They include Ashraf Abu Thrai, Zuhair Labbada, Hassan al-Turabi, Mohammad al-Amla and Sultan al-Wali, according to CDEDA. The commission also confirms none of them were ill before their arrest, but they became sick during their imprisonment.
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In extreme conditions prisoners are given tranquillisers. |
Many prisoners are afraid they will be treated in the same way as Zuhair Labbada, who was already ill when he was arrested on 7 December 2011. His condition quickly deteriorated and he fell into a coma. In May 2012 he was discharged, and a week later died in a Nablus hospital.
Freed prisoner Othman al-Khalili, aged 35, lies in bed in his house in Nablus. He tell al-Araby al-Jadeed he was hit in the back with a bullet and paralysed before his arrest. After remaining in an Israeli prison for three years he was released to die.
Another prisoner who has been freed, Omar Afana, says there are 12 prisoners currently on the brink of death in Ramla prison likely to be released before they die.
Afana claims Israel has no programme for treating sick prisoners. In extreme conditions prisoners are given tranquillisers, and they are rarely allowed to see specialist doctors.
This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.
