Israel keeps Ahmad Manasra in solitary confinement 

Israel’s Eshel Prison yesterday decided to keep Palestinian Ahmad Manasra in solitary confinement despite the deterioration of his health, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (PPC) said.

Manasra, according to Wafa news agency, has been in solitary confinement for one year despite suffering from several health problems.

PPC spokesperson, Hassan Abed Rabbu, said: “Manasra should be among other prisoners due to his health problems, mainly the mental and nerve disorders.”

Abed Rabbu said that Manasra is being held in a dirty cell and in dire conditions, pointing out that he is unable to contact even other prisoners.

“He is banned from family visits,” Abed Rabbu said. “He is also subject to repeated humiliating inspection and receives very bad treatment by his jailers,” he added.

READ: Rights group appeals Israel’s rejection of Ahmad Manasra’s early release

Due to the severe deterioration of his health, a group of 36 psychologists filed a request to the prison services to release him, but their request was denied.

In 2015, then 13-year-old Ahmad and his 15-year-old cousin were accused of stabbing two Israelis in the Pisgat Ze’ev settlement in the occupied West Bank.

His cousin was shot dead at the scene, whereas Ahmad was hit by a car and sustained serious head injuries while an Israeli crowd jeered at him.

Following his arrest, video footage, widely circulated on social media, showed a young, distressed Ahmad being harshly treated and severely interrogated without the presence of his parents or legal representative.

After he had turned 14 years old in 2016, Ahmad was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison, although the law at the time when the crime was allegedly committed in 2015 did not permit the imprisonment of minors under the age of 14.

The sentence was later reduced to nine and a half years. His mental condition has, reportedly, steadily deteriorated, possibly due to the harsh conditions of his detention, the recurrent instances of solitary confinement and, more tragically, the solitude away from his family.

Despite Ahmad’s aggravated mental health conditions, Israeli authorities have rejected requests by Ahmad’s lawyers for his early release.

Medical reports found that Ahmad suffers from schizophrenia and confirmed the devastating impact of the harsh treatment he was subject to at a young age.