The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), on Tuesday, released a statement regarding fears for the fate of 5,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails, after the declaration of jailers and investigators being infected with the coronavirus, COVID-19.
The Prisoners’s Society added that they have experienced great difficulty in obtaining prisoner health information, due to the isolation measures imposed by the prison authorities, including suspending family and lawyer visits.
The Prisoner’s Society renewed its request to international organizations including the Red Cross, to play a more effective role through increasing the number of people in Palestine to fulfill the current needs of the population. The statement asked for a neutral international medical committee to participate in testing the prisoners.
The prisoners relayed, through several messages, that the prison authorities never provided any of the precautionary measures in the crowded, closed sections of the prisons. Instead of making an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, authorities persecuted the prisoners, accordingly, the prisoners returned their meals and closed the sections as a protest.
It is indicated that there are 700 sick prisoners, 200 who suffer chronic medical issues, in addition to 180 children and 41 females. According to Palestinian WAFA News Agency, the PPS and several other institutions co-launched a petition requesting the release of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including ill, elderly, female and minor prisoners, over fears of coronavirus spread in the absence of Israeli Prison Service (IPS) health measures to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic.
~ Palestinian Prisoners’ Club – Facebook, WAFA
Image: Alray
