RAMALLAH, January 24, 2016 (WAFA) – The health conditions of three Palestinian sick prisoners in Israeli Ramla prison have severally deteriorated due to medical negligence by the prison authorities, according to the Palestinian Prisoner‘s Society (PPS).
PPS said one of its attorneys, who was recently allowed to visit Palestinian inmates in Ramla prison, informed it that 20-year-old Palestinian prisoner Meqdad al-Hih, from Surif town near Hebron, suffers from imbalance and numbness in two extremities; hand and foot, in addition to slurred speech, due to continued medical negligence by the Israeli prison service.
Al-Hih, who is being kept in solitary confinement, was shot and injured in his head by Israeli soldiers prior to his detention on October 22nd, 2015, PPS attorney added.
The attorney reported on the case of another prisoner identified as 19-year-old Zaid al-Aqshqar from Tulkarm, saying that al-Ashqar has been suffering from a severe abdominal pain caused by a live fire injury which he sustained prior to his detention on January 11th, 2016.
Meanwhile, the third prisoner, 42-year-old Alaa al-Hams from Rafah, in southern Gaza Strip, was not provided with adequate medical examinations despite of his deteriorating health status; he has been suffering from severe pain in the chest, repeated bleeding, and continuous severe coughing, and swollen lymph glands. Al-Hams was provided with inadequate blood and urine tests and was not transferred to hospital.
In 2012, al-Hams was treated for tuberculosis for six consecutive months. Due to the kind of medication he received, serious complications arose in al-Hams’ health, including neurological problems and trembling in his legs and hands.
To be noted, multiple human rights groups have accused Israel of maintaining a systematic policy of medical negligence toward Palestinian detainees.
There are some 1,500 sick Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, 80 of whom are suffering from serious health problems and do not receive the necessary treatment; they suffer from malignant diseases, paralysis, and disabilities, in addition to cases of mental illness and neurological disorder.
According to Addameer annual report issued in 2013, “53 prisoners died inside Israeli prisons due to medical negligence. In addition, several cases were documented in which prisoners died after their release, with medical reports indicating that their deaths resulted from medical negligence.”
M.N/T.R
