Palestinian prisoner Saber al-Amitel, from the Negev, was pronounced dead in an Israeli jail on Sunday, amid reports that he had been subjected to abuse and torture during his detention.
His death follows mounting warnings over the grim conditions inside Israeli jails, where Palestinian detainees face different forms of abuse, including severe medical neglect and physical torture.
Amitel joins more than 100 prisoners who have died in Israeli prisons and detention camps since the start of the genocidal war on Gaza in 2023, with the identities of only 90 confirmed so far.
Meanwhile, the Hamas Movement issued a statement today mourning prisoner Saber al-Amitel.
Hamas stressed that Amitel died as a result of his exposure to brutal detention conditions and savage assaults while in prison.
The Movement called on the international community and human rights organizations to take serious action and pressure for an end to Israel’s violations against Palestinian prisoners.
The young man, Saber Al-Amitel (21 years old), from the Negev, died days after he was transferred in critical condition from the Shin Bet detention center to the hospital, while his family and lawyers are demanding a judicial investigation into the circumstances of his death and rejecting the Shin Bet’s allegations that he attempted suicide inside his cell.
The young man, Saber Al-Amital (21 years old), from the Negev, died on Friday in Barzlay Hospital in Ashkelon, about two weeks after he was found unconscious inside his cell in Shakma prison, where he was being held by the General Security Service (Shabak) on charges of “involvement in arms smuggling.”
Al-Amitel was arrested on June 4 and was investigated by the Shin Bet, while he was prevented throughout his detention from meeting with a lawyer. Israeli authorities claim he “attempted suicide” inside his cell, while his family and lawyers reject this account and demand an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Al-Amitel appeared in court a day after his arrest, and informed the judge that his health condition was good, while the court approved extending his detention until June 11 after it considered that there were “reasonable” suspicions against him. On June 7, he was found unconscious in his cell and taken to the hospital in critical condition before being released from detention during his stay there. He was pronounced dead on June 19.
The family’s lawyers said they were able to meet him at the hospital on June 8, and confirmed that they saw “severe injuries and bruises” on his body. They added that the family is demanding surveillance camera recordings, shift records and medical documents related to the incident, but their requests have not been met by the Shin Bet and the prison service, under the pretext that they no longer have protesters after he was transferred to the hospital.
The family and their lawyers submitted an urgent request to the Central Court in Beersheba to conduct a judicial investigation into the causes of death, directed against the Prison Service, the Shin Bet, the police, and Barzilai Hospital, considering that there is a “real possibility of exceptional circumstances” surrounding Amital’s death that require immediate investigation.
The young man’s family categorically rejected the claim that he had attempted suicide, saying that his son “was a healthy, healthy young man with no criminal record,” adding: “They took a healthy son from me and returned him as a corpse.” Saber did not commit suicide, and we want to see camera recordings to find out what really happened. The family also decided, for religious reasons, not to allow an autopsy, but to limit the procedure to an external examination.
For its part, the Shin Bet claimed that Al-Amitel “was arrested on suspicion of involvement in security violations related to smuggling combat means across the border”, and that he “attempted to commit suicide inside his cell” on June 7, before being transferred to the hospital and later released due to his health condition. The Prison Service merely said that the circumstances of the incident are being examined by the competent authorities, and that requests for materials and documents are being dealt with in accordance with the legal procedures in force.
