The reports of ill treatment of Palestinian detainees continue in Israeli prisons raising questions as to continued Israeli violations of international law; including violations of detainees’ rights, including medical negligence and prolonged solitary confinement.
The policies and procedures affect the health and wellbeing of detainees beyond their time in prison.
Most recently, ex-detainee Mjdi Ahmed Hammad, 29, died, after having spent 20 years in prison.
At approximately 3:00 pm on Wednesday, 19 March 2014, Hammad died at Kamal Odwan Hospital from heart failure.
Hammad was arrested by Israeli forces on 26 December 1991 and sentenced to six terms of life in prison and thirty years.
Hammad served 20 years, being transferred from one Israeli prison to another.
Hammad was released in a prisoners swap on 18 October 2011.
According to his family’s affidavit to Al Mezan, during Hammad’s detention he struggled with medical neglect, causing him high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
While being held at Nafha prison, Hammad was given pain killers for inflammation in the stomach.
He was not able to receive blood tests for his medical complaint.
Hammad’s doctors in Gaza reported that Hammad had an obstruction in the main arteries in his heart and that his heart was weak and not functioning at a higher capacity than 40%.
At the end of February, Hammad traveled to Jordan for an open heart surgery; doctors there told him it would not be possible due to the severe deterioration of his health.
Hammad was advised not to undergo any surgery.
He returned to Gaza and on Wednesday his health deteriorated further.
.
Hammad was then referred to the hospital where he soon died.
According to Al Mezan’s interviews with 300 ex-detainees who were released in the prisoner swap on 18 October 2011, Palestinian detainees are subject to different forms of physical and psychological abuse, amounting to torture, in detention.
The ex-detainees reported medical negligence and malnutrition.
The Israeli authorities are fully responsible for the wellbeing of Palestinian detainees and for instances of neglect as was reported with ex-detainee Hammad.
Al Mezan asserts that the Israeli policy of medical negligence is a clear violation of international law; those responsible should be held accountable.
Al Mezan expresses its deep concern for the life and wellbeing of the current hunger striking detainees’, whose conditions are poor.
Al Mezan strongly condemns Israel’s abuses of Palestinian detainees, from illegal detention without trial, as unlawful combatants or administrative detainees, to numerous procedures that violate basic rights and dignities, including solitary confinement, medical negligence, and barring of family visitations.
Al Mezan calls on the international community to promptly intervene to exert pressure on Israel to end its violations against Palestinian prisoners and to ensure respect of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in its dealing with Palestinian prisoners.
Al Mezan also calls on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to respect its obligations under international law and uphold the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners of 1955 and relating principles, to work on ensuring the release of all detainees, particularly patients whose number is increasing continuously due to the Israeli medical negligence policy.
End