Detainee Riyadh Dakh-Allah al-Omour, from Bethlehem, told lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Fawwaz al-Shalloudy, details of extreme torture he was subjected to in Bir Shiva prison, in spite of his bad medical condition.  

 
Al-Omour suffers from heart problems, and went through a medical operation before his arrest; doctors implanted a device in his heart to organize his heartbeats.
 
The day of arrest:
 
On 7/5/2002, al-Amour was arrested and transferred to Atzion detention, near Bethlehem.
 
After his arrest on May 7, 2002, he was badly beaten in Gush Etzion facility –South of Bethlehem, as a result, according to the testimony one of the wires of the device came out of his body.  This did not stop the soldiers, rather when they saw the wire, they continued beating him on his chest, and also pulled the wire from the device and put it back repeatedly to torture him.

 

When he was supposed to be transferred to another prison for interrogation, the intelligence agents first, refused to take him as blood came out of his mouth as he threw up.   He told them of what happened.  So they took him and promised to open an investigation in his case.

 

Confession for medication:
 
After al-Omour was transferred to Asqalan detention, he was interrogated for several hours, he was still vomiting blood, but his interrogators only gave him a special liquid to use in order to clear his throat from blood.
 
Later on, he was placed in a small cell, and only received painkilling pills while he was still vomiting blood.
 
After his health condition seriously deteriorated, soldiers told him that they will transfer him to the hospital, if he confessed to the charges against him, which includes resisting the occupation and military activities.
 
Investigation at the hospital
 
Al-Omour refused to confess the charges and lost consciousness after he was moved back to his cell.
 
Al-Omour was later on transferred to Barzilai hospital, after losing consciousness; he woke up to find himself at the hospital, while his legs and hands were tired to his bed.
 
Doctors operated him and closed a wound in his chest with 18 stitches after the solders pulled a wire which was attached to it.
 
Four days after his sugary, soldiers moved al-Omour back to prison, on their own responsibility after the doctor in charge refused to release him, and started interrogating him, but he started vomiting again, and contracted infections, which required transferring him to Assaf Harofeh hospital, where he was informed that he has a virus in his blood caused by internal bleeding.  
 
Al-Omour went through a medical operation at the hospital; doctors removed the device which was organizing his heart beats since it was damaged as a result of torture, and placed a temporary external device until they implant a new one in some weeks.
  
Continuous delay
 
The implant was delayed for 45 days, which affected his health condition and required an immediate surgery, then he was transferred to al-Ramleh hospital where he was operated again.   
 
Al-Omour contracted repeated infections, causing high fever, and irregular breathing.
 
Medical condition of the detainee
 
1. Pain in the chest, operation location, and internal pain.
2. Hearing loss.
3. Pain in the stomach.
4. Repeated unconsciousness.
 
The family of al-Amour appealed humanitarian organizations, to interfere and enable their son access to the needed medical facilities and attention.

   

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