Week 18: Haza'a Al Sa'adi Palestinian political prisoner

Haza’a Mohammed Haza’a Al Sa’adi, 44, is the second oldest prisoner from the province of Jenin. He was arrested on 28th July 1985 at the age of 17. He is the only son of his parents and has three sisters. He was an active participant in demonstrations and national protests that refused to accept the injustice of the occupation.

His participation in the protests and struggle was prompted when the Israeli occupation forces, with the assistance of a group of collaborators, poisoned the water reservoirs of the girl’s high school in Jenin which resulted in the poisoning of some of the girls. Haza’a, along with others, assisted the girls and transported them to hospital. Following this incident, a friend of Haza’as’ was shot and killed by the occupation forces. It was these events which pushed him to begin his struggle against the occupation. Though he was acting in secret, his activities were exposed and the Israeli authorities arrested him and two friends.

During the investigation Haza’a was subjected to harsh treatment in the Israeli prison; he was deprived of visitors, isolated, and subjected to torture whilst in isolation. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment plus a further 20 years. His friend Othman Bani Hasan received two life sentences on the charge of killing settlers and for belonging to a Fatah military group. During his imprisonment the Israeli authorities have continued to deny him visitor rights, in addition to continued isolation, constant movement between prisons and torture and ill-treatment by the authorities.His sister Hakima has spoken of the sadness of her mother who hopes to be reunited with her son. The family have, also, experienced their share of the psychological torture imposed by the prison authorities during their attempts to visit Haza’a.Haza’a’s mother spoke of moments of hope following announcements of prisoner exchanges, hoping that the exchanges would bring about the release of her son.  She says: “during the past years,  every time we anticipated his release, the occupation would attack us and end our joy, and every time we thought there was hope and heard about a new deal, we would feel happy and get ready to receive Haza’a. But it’s been twenty-four years and we’re still waiting with bitterness and fear, especially his three sisters who do not stop crying, fearing the fate of their only brother who is shackled in prison whilst the occupation completely refuses to release him. All we hear are promises which no longer do us any good.”Haza’a’s mother, who is over eighty years old, and has lived through the agony of detention and moving between prisons, the Red Cross, and the Prisoners Forum, adds: “We can no longer tolerate this pain and I hope to see Haza’a return.”