Palestinian Prisoner`s Association: "Occupation Commits Crime Against Administrative Detainee Farouk Al-Khatib from Ramallah
The Prisoner`s Association holds the Israeli Prison administration fully responsible for the severe health condition in which Farouk Al-Khatib, a 30-year-old administrative detainee from Abu Shukheidim/Ramallah, was released from Israeli occupation prisons last night. He spent the last four months under administrative detention, two months beyond the expiration of his administrative detention order, which began in August 2023.
According to Al-Khatib's family, he did not suffer from any chronic illnesses before his detention, only experiencing an increased heart rate during his previous four-year imprisonment.
The Prisoner's Association stated that Al-Khatib fell victim to a crime after his arrest, involving brutal beating by (Nahshon) forces while being transferred from (Ofer) prison to (Ma'bar Al-Ramla). This crime persisted despite his deteriorating health due to the medical crime committed against him. This, coupled with the assault, brought him to this critical stage.
During the recent period, Al-Khatib was held in (Nafha) prison after being transferred from (Ofer) prison, with the longest period spent there. He was recently moved to (Ramla clinic) and finally to (Soroka Hospital), where he was released last night through the military checkpoint in Naalin.
The Prisoner's Association noted that Al-Khatib was supposed to be visited today by a lawyer after several requests. Legal teams face significant obstacles in conducting visits to prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons.
The Prisoner's Association emphasized that Al-Khatib's case is not the only one where released prisoners face serious and challenging health conditions due to deliberate medical crimes committed against them.
Amid the escalating aggression and systematic crimes, torture, and abuse against prisoners and detainees after October 7th, the fate of hundreds of prisoners is at risk, as reported by released prisoners and legal teams who managed limited visits confirming the extent of these crimes.
The Prisoner's Association previously highlighted key facts facing Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli occupation prisons:
- Medical crimes intensified after October 7th as part of the occupation's deliberate policy of "slow killing" through medical crimes.
- After October 7th, prison administration stopped transferring sick prisoners in need of urgent medical attention to clinics.
- Some Israeli hospitals and doctors, with the approval of the Ministry of Health, refuse to treat Palestinian prisoners.
- Prison administration stopped transferring prisoners to hospitals except in very severe cases, exacerbating the suffering of prisoners, especially with the denial of even going to the prison clinic.
- Many prisoners subjected to torture and abuse were denied treatment despite injuries, as revealed by testimonies of recently released detainees.
- Medical equipment, such as glasses and crutches, were confiscated from some prisoners.
- Diabetic patients and those requiring special diets due to their health conditions face difficult and dangerous setbacks.
- Prison administration canceled many medical examinations that prisoners had been waiting for a long time due to procrastination.
- The number of sick and injured prisoners is increasing with continuous torture, abuse, and hunger strikes.