Israel delaying issuing release date for Raed Salah, lawyer says

Israeli authorities are “procrastinating in setting a release date” for the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, his lawyer said yesterday.

Khaled Zabarka told reporters that this is an “injustice”, noting that the “current month is his last in captivity after serving his 17-month sentence.”

“Salah is due to be released between 13 December 2021 and 24 January 2022,” Zabarka pointed out, stressing that setting a release date was a “basic right for any prisoner.”  “It is further injustice against Salah after a whole series of measures placed by the occupation against him.”

The clerk’s family said in recent days that Sheikh Salah was facing “harsh conditions in solitary confinement since his arrest,” noting that he was prevented from “communicating with prisoners and seeing anyone except his wife and children once a month.”

READ: Israel prevents Arab MK from visiting Sheikh Raed Salah in prison

Salah was detained by Israeli forces in August 2017 and indicted for incitement following his criticism of the erection of metal detectors at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

He was sentenced to 28 months in prison by an Israeli court. He served 11 months, half of which was spent in solitary confinement before he was moved to house arrest.

After two years under house arrest, in August 2020, Salah began a 17-month jail term on incitement charges.