Jamal Zaid

Name: Jamal Abed Al-Mu’ti Hasan Zaid

Date of Birth: 18 March 1958 

Age: 63 years

Residence: Al Bireh

Marital Status: Married

Occupation: Businessman

Date of Arrest: 15 September 2021

Prison: Ramleh Prison Clinic

Legal Status: Administrative Detention

 

Previous Detention

Jamal Zaid was first arrested on 22 May 2019, after Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed his home in Al-Bireh, despite his old age and many health problems, and transferred him to Ofer Prison. The following day, Ofer Military Court held a hearing to extend his detention for 72 hours to examine the possibility of issuing an administrative detention order against him. Jamal was interrogated for fifteen minutes regarding alleged activities in a “banned” organization, after which an Israeli military commander issued him a 4-month administrative detention order. The military court confirmed the administrative detention order for the entirety of the period by claiming that he was active in a “banned” organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Addameer’s lawyer filed an appeal against the confirmation decision, which was rejected. After the four months ended, a new order was issued for another 4-month period that was confirmed for the entirety of the period. Addameer’s lawyer filed another appeal against the new order, and the military appellate judge ruled in favor of the appeal, but only shortened the administrative detention to three months. After the expiry of the period, his detention order was renewed again for a period of 3 months, and it was confirmed for the entire period. An appeal submitted by the lawyer was rejected by the court. The Israeli military commander then renewed the administrative detention order against Jamal, for the fourth consecutive time, for a period of three months. The military court essentially confirmed the administrative detention for the entire period, despite the lawyer’s submission of Jamal’s medical file which states the many diseases and health complications he suffers from, and then appealed the court decision. The military court of appeals accepted the appeal and decided to shorten the administrative detention by one month. By the time he was released on 22 May 2020, Jamal had spent an entire year in arbitrary administrative detention. 

During the period of his detention, Jamal began to suffer from kidney problems. Following his release, and as a result of the medical neglect he had been subjected to over the course of a year, it became clear that he needed periodic dialysis and he began his treatment. Even though Jamal’s lawyer emphasized in each confirmation and/or appeals hearing the seriousness of the detainee’s health condition, accompanied by medical reports, and stressed the need for his release to receive necessary treatment, Israeli military courts continued to confirm his detention for months on end, totaling to a year. The courts alleged he posed “a threat to the security of the region,” claiming his health did not prevent him from engaging in activities that pose a threat to the security of the region and the public. 

Current Detention

IOF arrested Jamal Zaid for the second time on 15 September 2021, after storming his house at around 3:30 am. The soldiers searched some rooms of the house and asked him to bring his medicines so as to arrest him. IOF arrested Jamal, even after his son informed them that Jamal suffers from kidney failure and that he has an appointment today for a dialysis session. During his arrest and transfer, Jamal lifted his blindfold to see what was around him, and, in response, a soldier forcefully shoved him forward.

Jamal was transferred to a military camp near Al-Ram until the morning hours, after which he was transferred to Sha’rei Tsedak Hospital, where they conducted tests for him and underwent a dialysis session, and remained until 3:30 pm in the afternoon without being able to sleep or rest. After the session had ended, Jamal was transferred to Ramleh prison clinic, where he continues to be held in arbitrary administrative detention.

Legal Status

Salem Military Court held a session to extend Jamal’s detention on 17 September 2021. His lawyer noted that the detainee is elderly and suffers from many medical conditions, including high blood pressure and kidney failure, and needs dialysis once every two days. The lawyer asked the court to release him immediately to receive the necessary treatment. The military judge decided to extend his detention for 6 days to continue the investigation. 

On the scheduled court session on 22 September 2021, the Israeli military commander issued an administrative detention order against Jamal for a period of 6 months, which led to the cancellation of the scheduled session and the appointment of a new session to review the detention order. 

Ofer military court held a session to confirm the administrative detention order against Jamal on 23 September 2021, during which the session was postponed until 6 October 2021 to bring the medical file. In that session, Addameer’s lawyer submitted medical documents noting the health condition of the detainee Jamal, indicating his serious health condition and the need for regular dialysis. The military judge decided to postpone the hearing until 18 October 2021 to review the detainee’s medical file and make a decision. The hearing was postponed again till 25 October 2021, and on 11 November 2021, the Israeli military judge issued a decision.

In the military court’s decision, the military judge ruled that the detainee is active in a “banned” organization and “threatens the security of the region and the public” and that administrative detention is the “only way to ward off the danger” posed by the detainee. The judge said that due to the detainee’s medical condition, the administrative detention order would be shortened to three months. The order expires on 13 December 2021, with the possibility of further renewal indefinitely. 

The military prosecutor appealed the decision to shorten Jamal Zaid's administrative detention order on 29 November 2021, alleging that Jamal's health conditions do not deter the security threat he poses. On 30 November 2021, the military judge of appeal approved the military prosecutor's appeal, canceling the administrative detention shortening and confirming a six months administrative detention order against Jamal, ending in March 2022, with the possibility of indefinite renewal.

Despite Jamal Zaid's health conditions, the Israeli military commander issued a three-month renewal to Jamal's administrative detention order, and Ofer military courts confirmed the whole duration of his order to end on 16 June 2022. On the day of his expected release, the Israeli military commander again renewed Jamal's administrative detention order for an additional three months ending on 11 September 2022. Jamal's lawyer appealed the decision on 28 July 2022. However, on 4 August 2022, Ofer military court of appeal refused the appeal and confirmed Jamal's administrative detention order for three months, with the possibility of indefinite renewals.

The Detainee’s Medical Condition...Double the Suffering

The suffering of detainee Jamal Zaid is not only because of his old age but also because he suffers from many serious medical conditions that require close and constant attention. Jamal suffers from the effects of a previous stroke and previously underwent a retinal detachment surgery, requiring him to take fluid medication on a regular basis, in addition to his suffering from gout, blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and irregular heartbeat, all of which require regular medication. The aforementioned complications do not even account for his case of kidney failure, which requires dialysis every other day. 

As a result of his medical complications, Jamal will spend his administrative detention period—of indefinite duration—in Ramleh prison clinic, where he undergoes dialysis three days a week. The session becomes four hours of suffering, after which he is transferred to the Ramleh prison clinic rooms, where he languishes with the rest of the sick prisoners in difficult conditions.   

During his first arrest, Jamal suffered from harsh living conditions in the Ramleh prison clinic, and during his movement between prisons, he did not receive the necessary medical treatment and was subjected to ill-treatment and deprived of adequate food, in line with the requirements of his diet, as mandated by his health condition. When his health condition deteriorated, he was taken handcuffed in the bosta from Ofer to the Ramleh prison clinic, despite the known arduous journey of the bosta. Some prisoners refuse treatment to avoid suffering through the bosta, which prompted the detainee Jamal to refuse transfer to the Ramleh prison clinic for treatment after he had been through the bosta transportation the first time. 

In one incident, following a family visit, Jamal lost consciousness due to a drop in blood sugar. He was taken by ambulance to Shaarei Tzedek hospital, handcuffed by his left hand and right leg, and under constant supervision; he could not move due to the cuffs that bound him to the bed. Jamal was exposed to extreme cold, due to his body lying without a cover, and he was not allowed to go to the bathroom except twice. At the time, they told him his condition was serious, only to find out later that the cause of the sudden drop in blood sugar was the result of a medical error after a nurse gave him the wrong medication. This incident showcases the Israeli occupation’s practice of deliberate medical negligence with regard to Palestinian prisoners. 

Israeli Occupation’s Systematic Policy of Medical Negligence Towards Palestinian Prisoners

Israeli occupation authorities continue to blatantly violate international norms and conventions related to the protection of prisoners, especially sick prisoners, as the conventions guarantee the provision of necessary medical care to patients. Articles 76 and 92 of the Fourth Geneva Convention stipulate the right of sick detainees to receive the necessary medical care, in addition to a healthy diet and the necessity of conducting necessary medical examinations. 

The living conditions of Israeli occupation prisons are extremely ill-suited for a sick detainee who needs continuous medical care, especially in light of the outbreak of COVID-19, as the pandemic imposes additional consideration on the health status of sick prisoners, and occupation authorities and Israeli Prison Services (IPS) must take the utmost caution to prevent the infection of detainees and prisoners, especially sick prisoners as it poses an additional threat to their lies. In the case of the detainee Jamal, who is on dialysis, there is a real danger to his life if he is infected with the virus. 

Statistics compiled by human rights organizations indicate that the number of detainees and sick prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons is 550, which includes those with chronic diseases and serious illnesses such as cancer. About 12 prisoners are held in Ramleh prison clinic, 6 of whom remain there permanently. 

The number of Palestinian prisoners who have died as a result of the occupation’s policy of medical negligence has reached 72 prisoners, including 4 prisoners who died in 2020 and are Daoud Al-Khatib, Noureddine Al-Barghouti, Saadi Al-Gharabli, and Kamal Abu Wa’ar. The most recent case is that of Palestinian prisoner Sami Al-Amour who died as a result of medical neglect on November 18, 2021. The Israeli occupation continues to hold the bodies of 8 Palestinian prisoners in refrigerators and secret graves, and they are Anis Doula, who passed away in Askalon prison in 1980; Aziz Owaisat in 2018; Fares Baroud, Nassar Taqatqa, and Bassam Al-Sayeh, all three of whom died in 2019; Saadi Al-Garabi and Kamal Abu Wa’ar in 2020, and Sami Al-Amour in 2021; along with hundreds of prisoners who died after their release from captivity, affected by diseased they contracted inside prisons, such as the case of prisoner Hussein Maslama.

 

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