RAMALLAH, July 6, 2015 (WAFA) – A Palestinian prisoner in Israeli jails who is diagnosed with bowel cancer has been denied family visits, according to the Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs (CPA).    

Ibtesam Anati, an attorney with CPA, said prisoner Mutasem Raddad from Tulkarm who is being hospitalized in Ramla hospital under tight Israeli supervision along with 16 other ailing prisoners has been denied family visitation for months. Other fellow prisoners are also denied family visits despite suffering serious diseases.

There are some 1,500 ill prisoners in Israeli jails suffering from cancer, heart problems, and kidney failures. Prisoners do not receive adequate medical care, and are only treated with painkillers, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club (PPC).

Several prisoners also suffer from psychological problems as a consequence of solitary confinement. Prisoners under solitary confinement in Israeli jails are held in cells that lack basic health standards.

According to the Palestine Detainees Studies Center, around 60% of the Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails suffer from chronic diseases, and some of them died in detention or after being released due to the severity of their cases caused by a deliberate medical negligence policy.

M.N/M.H