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Palestinian prisoner Manasra's detention could lead to his death, family warn

June 10, 2022 at 2:29 pm

Palestinian Ahmad Manasra is seen during his hearing in Be’er Sheva, Israel on April 13, 2022 [Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu Agency]

The family of Palestinian prisoner, Ahmed Manasra, yesterday called for his “immediate release due to his deteriorating health and psychological condition.”

“The psychological and physical health of my son is very bad, and he must be released from prison immediately,” Manasra’s mother, Maysoun, told reporters in Jerusalem’s occupied town of Beit Hanina, adding that her son was “still held in solitary confinement.”

Maysoun stressed that her family were “still prevented by the occupation authorities from visiting Manasra,” warning that her son’s isolation could lead to “his death.”

Manasra’s lawyer, Khaed Zabarka, explained that Israeli law did not allow prisoners’ isolation, calling on the occupation authorities “to allow an urgent visit by the International Committee of the Red Cross to check and evaluate Manasra’s health condition.”

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Manasra has been unlawfully detained for seven years by the Israeli occupation under horrific circumstances and is currently suffering from serious mental health issues. He was arrested at just 13 and interrogated without a lawyer or his parents present.

He was handed a 12-year jail term – later reduced to nine – for the attempted murder of a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in an illegal Jewish settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, this is despite him not taking part in the attack. His cousin was shot dead by an Israeli in 2015, while Manasra was brutally beaten up by an Israeli mob and crushed by an Israeli driver, leaving him with head injuries. At the time of his arrest, Israeli law stated that children under the age of 14 could not be held criminally responsible.

Last month, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) filed a request to the Beersheba District Court requesting the extension of his solitary confinement.

Ahmad Manasra is a Palestinian youth who was imprisoned 7 years ago, at the age of 13, by the occupation forces and has since been suffering from intense psychological torture including solitary confinement - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Ahmad Manasra is a Palestinian youth who was imprisoned 7 years ago, at the age of 13, by the occupation forces and has since been suffering from intense psychological torture including solitary confinement – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]