Palestinian detainee dies in detention as a result of medical neglect

Tuesday January 16, 2007 22:51 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday that detainee Jamal al Saraheen, 37, died due to severe sickness in his lungs as prison administration failed to provide him with the neccessary medial care and attention.

Al Saraheen, who was married and had a young daughter, was confined to administrative detention for six months without charges or trial.

Prison administration only moved him to the prison hospital on Tuesday morning after he suffered a sharp deterioration in his health condition; he died shortly after he was admitted to the prison hospital.

The administration informed his inmates of his death on Tuesday afternoon, and the detainees decided to protest against the prison administration for not providing Al Saraheen with the urgent medical care he needed.

The detainees also declared a three-day mourning period, and decided to hold protests in every branch at the detention facility.

Meanwhile, the Mandela Institution held the Israeli Prison Authorities responsible for the death of Al Saraheen.

The institution released a statement saying that Al Saraheen suffered a sharp deterioration in his health condition last week, but the administration refrained from moving him to the hospital for medical treatment.

Mandela issued a press release appealing human rights organizations and the international community to probe the Israeli violations against the detainees. These violations constitute a direct breach to the international law and the Fourth Geneva conventions.

It is important to note that Al Saraheen was first taken prisoner in 1998 and was released in 2004. On May 18 2006, he was taken prisoner again and was moved to administrative detention for six months. After the six months were over, the prison authorities extended his detention period for an additional six months.

Detainees imprisoned under administrative detention are imprisoned without even knowing the charges against them.

Under the Israeli law, Administrative Detention is a procedure under which a person, deemed by the law enforcement authorities to be “a threat to the public”, is placed in temporary detention without trial.

Its legal basis is a 1945 Emergency Decree of the British Mandate, as amended by the 1979 Law on Authority in States of Emergency. It is often applied in cases where the available evidence consists of information obtained by the security services (particularly the Shin Bet), and where a trial would reveal sensitive security information.

But since the so-called evidence cannot be revealed even to the lawyer, Israel is using administrative detention to keep hundreds of detainees imprisoned without declaring charges, and gives itself the right to renew the detention period without any legal proceedings.

palestine | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org