Palestinian family appeals the release of their detained son

Sunday April 29, 2007 22:36 by Moeen Shadid - IMEMC

Family of detainee Ali Hasan Odah, 27, from the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, appealed human rights organization, the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees and all institutions advocating the rights of the detainees, to act in order to release their son who was taken prisoner when he was only 17-year old, more than 10 years ago.

Odah was accused of killing an Israeli citizen inside Israel after the later attempted to abuse him.

The father of Odah said that his son was arrested in April 1998 after he killed the Israeli employer who attempted to abuse him. The court sentenced him to 12 years after transferring his case from the military court to the criminal court.

The father stated that the prosecution wanted the court to sentence his son to a life-term, but the court sentenced him to 12 years since the slain Israeli employer was facing 32 cases of sexual abuse and assaults.

He added that his son was supposed to be released last year since one year imprisonment according to the Israeli law is nine months, but the Prison Administration refused the efforts to release him.  

The father also said that his son is frequently confined to solitary and was repeatedly fined after the administration claimed the he was “responsible for several problems in prison”.

Ali is the older son of a family that includes eight sisters and brothers. Poverty forced him to start working as a construction worker in Israel at an early age, his father was also working as a construction worker but he isn’t working now due to his age and closures imposed on the Palestinian territories.

The brother of Ali was taken prisoner in January 17, 2006, after the Israeli security claimed that he is a member of Hamas, and that he provided shelter to a suicide bomber.

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