Detainee with cancer reaches critical condition due to medical negligence

Sunday August 03, 2008 23:08 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

One of the lawyers of the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) met with Palestinian political detainee Jamal Darabia, 35, from Gaza, imprisoned in Eshil Israel prison, who is suffering from cancer but not receiving the needed medical treatment.  The negligence of the Israeli prison authorities has allowed a severe deterioration in his health condition.

Darabia was kidnapped by the army in 2005 and was sentenced to one life term. He is suffering from pain in his back after he underwent four surgeries. The surgeries did not achieve the desired outcome and the stitches have opened, while his flesh underneath is dissolving and bleeding profusely.

His lawyer said that he could see the bones on Darabia’s back, adding that Darabia is not receiving the urgent attention he needs.  

The detainee said that he needs surgery in his back and that he knows that this surgery could lead to paralysis or slow death, as he was informed by prison physicians.

Several doctors who managed to examine him said that he is suffering from a kind of rare and serious sort of cancer which dissolves the flesh in his back and causes bleeding.

The detainee is appealing to be transferred to a specialized hospital in order to receive the needed treatment and attention.

In related news, the  PPS lawyer also managed to visit detainee Mahmoud Abdullah Al Sha’er, 30, from Gaza. Al Sha’er is suffering from infections in his chest and kidneys and is only receiving painkilling pills instead of being examined by a specialized physician.

The lawyer also visited a number of detainees who complained about the bad conditions they face, including repeated attacks carried by the soldiers, repeated fines imposed on a number of detainees, and the repeated solitary confinement of a number of detainees for extended periods.

The detainees also said that several of their number are sick, including a detainee who lost his right arm after he was shot by the soldiers who kidnapped him.  That detainee, Abed Saleh Al Taqtooq, 25, was kidnapped in 2005 and was sentenced to five years.

israel | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org