Addameer lawyer stated today, Tuesday, February 12, 2019, that the Israeli military court has released the sick detainee, Waleed Sharaf, 23-years-old, from Abu Dis, East Jerusalem. Sharaf was released due to his critical health condition, for which he was transferred to Asaf Harofeh hospital last week. Waleed Sharaf was arrested in June 2018 and was subjected to administrative detention for a period of six months. His sentence was renewed for another month in December 2018 and then for another five months in January. It was around the same time that he was exposed to a worsening in his health condition. He was then sent to al-Ramleh hospital. According to Addameer’s lawyer, the Israeli military court decided yesterday to postpone the court hearing regarding the renewal of Waleed’s administrative detention sentence to today, in order to review his medical file, before ordering his release today.

Continuous of medical negligence

The Israeli military court set the date of his court hearing on his administrative detention on February 4, 2018 claiming that his health has improved. On the other hand, “Physicians for Human Rights” issued a report declaring that Waleed’s medical situation was deteriorating. The medical organisation confirmed that the prisoner was suffering from serious damage in his liver as a result of not receiving the necessary treatment that he needed. Since his transfer from Ofer prison to al-Ramleh prison on January 6, 2018 and after his health conditions worsened, Sharaf didn’t receive any medical treatment until January 25, 2018. When Addameer visited him on January 30, 2018, Waleed was still not diagnosed.  It was clear that there was a medical negligence by the occupation authorities. Sharaf, who suffers from a rare skin disease is compelled to continuously take medicine. This caused him a liver damage during the time of his arrest, which exacerbated due to the lack of medical attention. Waleed remains in Asaf Harofeh hospital until today.

Systematic Policy

At the same time that Addameer holds the Israeli occupation authority and the administration of Israeli detention centers full responsibility for Waleed Sharaf’s medical condition and life. It reaffirms that the Israeli occupying force continuous and systematic policy of medical neglect of Palestinian prisoners constitutes a severe violation to their basic human rights, guaranteed under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It is particularly a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the International Convention against Torture of 1948, which was ratified by the occupying power in 1991, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners of 1955, and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention of Imprisonment of 1988. Addameer calls upon all relevant international organizations, especially by the International Committee of the Red Cross to assume their responsibility for ensuring the safety of the Palestinian prisoners and their right to health care and medical attention.  Addameer also calls upon the High Contracting Parties and the international community to pressure the occupying power to guarantee and ensure the termination of its medical negligence policy against Palestinian prisoners and detainees and to respect the prisoners’ right to health care and access to treatment.