Detainees in all military detention camps are currently preparing to announce an indefinite hunger strike in protest of the deteriorating situation in the detention centers where wounded or ill detainees have been denied adequate medical treatment.
According to statistics of the Palestinian Prisoners Society there are 800 detainees who are in immediate need of medical attention, including some cases where surgery is needed.
The Society said that there has been a critical deterioration in detention camps in the last three years as prison administrators refuse to listen to the demands of the detainees.
Inhumane conditions, inadequate food, unhygienic conditions due to a refusal to give detainees the proper cleaning supplies, bugs and insects all contribute to making the situation in the detention camps unfit for human use, reports the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
Two detainees speak about abuse and torture
More than 50 detainees currently detained in Kfar Etzion detention center have spoken to the lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society and reported cases of abuse and torture, as well as complaints of inadequate food and lack of medical attention and treatment.
Detainee Musleh Mohammad Musleh, an 18-year-old from Hebron said that he was beaten up by soldiers during his arrest, and that his right leg has been broken ever since.
Lawyer Hussein Al-sheikh said that marks of torture and clubbing are clearly apparent on his body.
Musleh is unable to move, or walk, and needs assistance to use the toilet or even get dressed.
Detainee Mohammad Imad Al-Shami, a 15-year-old from Ramallah, said that he was clubbed on his right leg and that he is suffering from infections and bleeding.
Al-Shami added that he was forced to confess to charges made up by the army after being tortured for a long time.
Al-Shami is in immediate need of hospitalization and treatment.
80 detainees in Benjamin face harsh conditions
The lawyer for the Prisoner Society, Karim Hammouda, said that there are currently 80 detainees in Benjamin detention suffering from medical neglect and bad living conditions.
Hammouda gave the example of Hamza Yasser Odeh, from Bethlehem who suffers extreme pain in his right arm which was amputated from the elbow and still needs another operation to remove bone fragments and medical attention to heal several other wounds.
Hammouda is only receiving pain killers.
Facts and Statistics:
Children:
Among the detainees, 463 are under the age of eighteen, 22 of them are in administrative detention without trial, 38 are sick, 302 are being investigated, and 139 have been sentenced.
Female Detainees:
There is a total of 98 female detainees, 95 of whom were arrested after the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada which started at the end of September 2000. 28 detainees have been sentenced, 67 are currently being investigated and 3 are in administrative detention. 22 detainees are mothers, and two have given birth in detention after being arrested while pregnant.
Types of sentencing:
1873 detainees have gone to court and have been sentenced. 392 have received life terms; 279 of whom were sentenced before the Intifada. 309 detainees have been sentenced to terms between 15 and 50 years and 142 detainees have been sentenced to 10-15 years. There are an additional 1135 detainees in administrative detention and 3058 detainees in detention and interrogation centers.
Health conditions of the detainees:
– There are 145 detainees with various diseases who were arrested before 2000.
– 825 detainees arrested after the Intifada suffer from chronic diseases.
– Many detainees were brought to detention centers with gunshot wounds and did receive proper medical attention if any.
– Two detainees are paralyzed.
– 20 detainees are currently in Al-Ramlah prison hospital, facing substandard conditions as a result of the lack of medical equipment and medication. Some of them require a special diet which they don’t receive. Other detainees need immediate surgery.
