Ramallah - Saba:
The Palestinian Prisoners' Club has warned of the continuation and escalation of systematic crimes committed by the Zionist prison administration against prisoners and detainees, including medical neglect, starvation, isolation, and repeated assaults.
This comes 19 months after the genocide against the Palestinian people, with no sign of a decline in the pace of violations.
The Prisoners' Club confirmed in a statement on Monday, based on field testimonies collected by its legal teams during visits to Ofer, Megiddo, Gilboa, and the Negev prisons, that all prisoners visited suffer from health problems, most notably the continued spread of scabies, particularly in the Negev and Megiddo prisons, amid deprivation of the most basic requirements for personal hygiene and healthcare.
A number of prisoners reported that the disease recurred after they had recovered, due to deliberate neglect by the prison administration.
This led to the spread of infection among them, especially given the overcrowding, lack of hygiene, and poor ventilation. During the visit, some of them showed clear symptoms such as boils, emaciation, and extreme fatigue resulting from constant itching and inability to sleep.
In Ofer Prison, a number of child prisoners (cubs) revealed that they were suffering from a rash and itching without knowing the cause or receiving any medical diagnosis, amid systematic medical neglect affecting all age groups inside prisons.
The testimonies also confirmed an increase in the frequency of night and morning raids and incursions carried out by the prison administration's repression units, supported by police dogs.
These raids are accompanied by repeated physical assaults against prisoners, in a scene aimed at humiliating and intimidating them. Among the documented cases, prisoners Muhammad Abu al-Rub (Jenin) and Khairy Ali (Nablus), both serving life sentences, were subjected to repeated assaults, including beatings and humiliation, since the start of the aggression.
In the same context, the club documented the case of one wounded prisoner, who confirmed that the prison administration refused to provide him with the necessary treatment, which exacerbated his injury and increased his suffering.
The prisoner stated in his testimony: "I had an eye injury and had received a lens implant. During the raid on my cell a few weeks ago, I was attacked by a police dog equipped with an iron muzzle, causing me a new injury. Despite my requests for treatment, the administration refused to transfer me to the clinic."
The Prisoners' Club noted that the prison administration uses prisoners' pain and injuries as a means of torture and abuse, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, holding the enemy fully responsible for their lives and their physical and psychological well-being.
The Prisoners' Club concluded its statement by emphasizing that the crimes committed against prisoners have become part of a systematic policy implemented daily, resulting in the deaths of dozens to date, amidst a disturbing international silence.
The Club called on human rights and humanitarian organizations to take immediate action to halt these escalating violations.
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