While heading back home from the United Arab Emirates, a young Palestinian man was kidnapped by Israeli soldiers at the al-Karama Border Terminal with Jordan, and was subjected to extreme torture and interrogation for 24 days, until he suffered a nervous breakdown and lost the ability to speak.
The Radio Bethlehem 2000 has reported that Moath ad-Dardeery, 30, from Beit Leed near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, was moved to a hospital in the city just hours after his release.
Moath spent 24 days being questioned at the al-Jalama interrogation center, and was never allowed to see a lawyer, or even his family. He was then moved to the Majeddo (Megiddo) Israeli prison.
His health condition kept deteriorating, due to torture and ongoing interrogation. He only saw a lawyer when he was sent to a military court at the Salem Israeli military base, near Nablus.
His father, Nasr, said that soldiers kidnapped Moath on July 17 2014, as he was trying to cross the border terminal on his was back home from the United Arab Emirates, where he was interviewed for a job.
“One of the biggest companies in the West Bank called him, and informed him they have accepted his application for work,” the father stated. “My son submitted the application before he went to the UAE and, when he got the job in the West Bank, he returned home because he prefers to work in Palestine, especially since he got married a year ago.”
The father added that he received a phone call, from his son, telling him that he was being arrested at the border terminal.
“Each time, the court just ordered him under further interrogation,” the father said. “And, each time, we noticed his health condition is getting worse.”
Moath’s health condition reached a very serious level, and an Israeli court ordered both his release and a bail of 3,000 New Israeli Shekels.
Directly after his release, the young man was moved to the Arab Specialized Medical Center in Nablus, suffering a serious nervous breakdown, in addition to losing his ability to speak.
He is also unable to interact with people around him, including his family and doctors.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) holds the Israeli Prison Authority responsible for this serious deterioration resulting from torture and abuse.
Over 800,000 Palestinians have been held captive in Israeli jails since the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip were first illegally occupied by Israel in 1967.
Conditions are often severe, with prisoners being held under policy of Administrative Detention, in which they are held indefinitely, without charge or trial.
See IMEMC Special Report: “800,000 Palestinians Imprisoned By Israel Since 1967” for more details.
