Families of Jordanian, Palestinian prisoners in Saudi Arabia demand news after relatives catch Covid

Families of Jordanian, Palestinian prisoners in Saudi Arabia demand news after relatives catch Covid
Palestinian and Jordanian prisoners in Saudi Arabia have reportedly contracted the coronavirus
1 min read
30 July, 2022
Human rights organisations have accused Saudi authorities of denying the prisoners medical care [Getty]

Families of Palestinian and Jordanian prisoners in Saudi Arabia have held authorities responsible for their relatives’ wellbeing after receiving news that they caught Covid-19, sources told Quds Press News Agency.

Contact between the prisoners and their families has been completely cut off since the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday in early July, after several detainees contracted the coronavirus, sources said.

The families of the Jordanian detainees demanded from authorities to reveal the fate of their relatives, holding Riyadh and Amman responsible for their wellbeing.

They also demanded that necessary treatment be provided to them in hospitals and not in prison clinics, which they say are not fully equipped.

MENA
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Between February and August 2019, Saudi authorities detained 68 Jordanians and Palestinians living in the kingdom, accusing them of providing support to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Among the detainees is 83-year-old Mohammed Al-Khudari, who was previously Hamas' representative to Saudi Arabia.

He was suffering from cancer when he was arrested and lost the ability to move his right hand while in detention due to inadequate healthcare.

In December, Saudi Arabia reduced Al-Khudari’s sentence from 15 years to three.

Other detainees have been tortured, activists allege.