United Nations

A/HRC/31/NGO/29
Distr.: General 17 February 2016 English only

General Assembly

Human Rights Council
Thirty-first session Agenda item 7 Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories

Written statement* submitted by the Khiam Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status
The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. [05 February 2016]

*

This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting nongovernmental organization(s).

GE.16-02271(E)

*1602271*

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Sick and wounded prisoners' testimonies in the Israeli occupation prisons
Prisoner Thaer Halahlah The prisoner "ThaerAziz Halahleh" said that he was infected with hepatitis deliberately by the occupation prisons service doctor, due to harsh investigation in Ashkelon prison, he suffered from pain in the right side of kidney, back, and teeth. He was taken to the prison's clinic and conducted blood and dental tests, where the doctor used non sterile medical tools during his teeth treatment, and he said "I saw blood on the tools, and later I found out that I'm infected with hepatitis, they prescribed me (250) pills in one month but it was in vain". Prisoner Ali Shalaldeh The ex-detainee "Ali Shalaldeh" (62 years old) described Al-Ramla prison's hospital as a refrigerator where prisoners are humiliated". He saw death several times in front of his eyes, where five prisoners died at the hospital without facing any response from the prison's administration, there is neither treatment nor good medical care. He added that there are 20-30 permanent patient, their diseases varies: paraplegia, feet impeding, and chronic diseases. in addition, this hospital also provides emergency and slight treatment for tens prisoners who visit the hospital daily. This hospital is supervised by a general practitioner and one nurse only; treatment is often limited to painkillers for all diseases at the appropriate time and way the doctor or nurse see. Shalaldeh added, "They don't treat you as a patient prisoner, but as criminal dangerous prisoner ", where they handcuffed prisoner when transferring him to another hospital. The Ex-detainee patient Akram Rikhaoy Testimony The ex-detainee "Akram Abdullah Mohammed Rikhaoy", "42 years old", he stayed in Al-Ramla hospital for 8 years, before being released in February 2013, he was suffering from a severe asthma, high diabetes and cholesterol in blood, and he witnessed many prisoners' death. He says," the death scenes and pain sounds, surround you at every corner, from the so-called Hospital" where prisoners are exhausted by pain where their bodies, lives and health rights are being abused flagrantly. Al- Ramla prison hospital "doesn't meet the basic requirement of a semi-clinic", and it is not different from other sections as they all share the same injustice and aggrieve against humanitarian rights. Al-Rikhaoyadded, "15prisoners are helped by one healthy prisoner, and you can imagine how hard is helping nine paralyzed prisoners touse toilet each morning daily". The occupation practiced medical malpractice in all its forms, when a prisoner suffers from pain he is examined only after years after being very sick and cannot be treated. Rikhaoy says : " I lived in Al-Ramla prison's hospital nearly nine years ; when a prisoner needs a simple operation waits nearly two years until they agree, How about serious diseases ? " Al-Rikhawi added ,"I saw approximately 16 prisoners death, most of them had cancer , "confirming that prisoner Mohammed Radayda from Tulkarm was assassinated directly after three days of his detention by the Israeli intelligence, where he was in a very bad state when he was arrested. As well as prisoner "ZuhairLabadah" who died after three days after his release, due to medical negligence where they delayed his analysis which supposed to be three times a week, resulting to liver failure ,And he was released after a medical committee decision saying that this man will die after several days .

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"When we asked the prison administration to take the prisoner "JomaaAl-kayali" to the clinic, they were late and waited until he died", where the martyr prisoner "Maysara Abu Hamdiya" was suffering from pain and after 6 years he was diagnosed with cancer , and was not treated well ,then he died. The wounded Tarek DwaikTestimony The prisoner "Tarek KhalelAbbas Dwaik" who resides in KaferAkab in Jerusalem, 19 years old, who is detained since 13/10/2015, stated that 30 Israeli soldiers attacked him in Ranana area in the occupied territories where he was working, and hit him sharply in all his body parts. And he said that," he woke up after ten days, surrounded by 3 guards and his hands and legs were cuffed, he was wounded in both neck and eye, and he was connected to an equipment to help him to breathe". Dwaik mentioned that he was taken to the Al-Ramla hospital and then to Maskobiya for investigation, for 15 times in continuous investigation rounds, and one of investigators hit him on his head, also another one gripped the equipment around his neck which made him feel severe pains and he couldn't breathe then fall down. Dwaik said that he was taken from the hospital to the investigation several times, which lead to worsen his health condition, causing tiredness and overexertion, moreover "Alnahshoon", which was responsible on transferring him from hospital to investigation treated him badly. His health condition still very bad where he can't breathe except through equipment in a hole in his neck. The wounded prisoner Mos'ab Ghneemat The prisoner Mosab Mahmud Ghneemat, 16 years old, resident in Soreef, Hebron, stated that he was shot on 23/10/2015 during olive collecting; where he was injured in his leg and fell down. Ghneemat said that there was no reason for shooting as he was unarmed, wounded and suffering, and while he was in the ambulance to the hospital, he was under investigation. And after reaching HadasaEanKarem hospital he had another investigation before having the surgery .Four days after surgery he was investigated again also they prevented him from using toilet and kept shouting and insulting him all the time. A meeting with the martyr prisoner Ashraf Abu Zareea' in the hospital before his death To prove the sick prisoners' difficult conditions in Al-Ramla hospital; we attach meeting details between the head of Mandela foundation, lawyer "Bothaina Dokmak" and the prisoner Ashraf Abu Zarea', who died months later, where she visited him on 28/5/2012 and he died on 22/1/2013 due to Medical negligence. She confirmed that his health is very bad, due to treatment negligence; as the administration only gives him painkillers although he suffers from several diseases including legs muscles atrophy and severe pains. The prisoner said to BothainaDokmak", the administration makes sure that we are suffering in every moment. Arresting us was not enough to enforce us difficult procedures, where we live the same bad conditions as other prisons, and it has nothing to do with hospital except the name". Abo Zrea added, "The patients are living in bad conditions. Three years ago, a doctor from Doctors without Borders examined meand recommended a therapy 5 times a week, but the prison administration only commit once or twice a week". A Knesset member criticizes the prison's conditions The Arab representative in the Israeli Knesset Dr. AfuAghbariya had strongly criticized sick prisoners mistreatment in Ramla prison hospital, where he said: it is ironic to call that miserable clinic as hospital, Where there are no medical devices and no specialist doctors, the jailor in that hospital is the doctor himself, and what makes it worse is the lack of the necessary medications for difficult diseases and the only medications for disease are painkiller and aspirin. Dr. Aghbariya said that the Israeli leaders should close that hospital or replace it with a real hospital which provides its patients with full medical services as required by human and prisoner's rights principles, and it should not be used as a

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cover to hide its repressive policy toward the Palestinian prisoners, furthermore, he stressed on the necessity of selecting specialized doctors from different official hospitals to provide treatment to patient prisoners in this miserable hospital and to quip it with the necessary medical equipment in order to turn it into a hospital under medical supervision . Aghbariy a listed the prisoners' medical neglect issue in the proposal, after revealing a documented information by the Hebrew press, which refers to the Israeli prisons administration serious neglect in providing treatment to prisoners who suffer from serious diseases, which lead secretly to many prisoners death as if nothing has happened. Dr. Aghbariya said that the Palestinian prisoners' health and diseases are much worse and dangerous; where in 2013, three prisoners died, they are: Maysara Abu Hamdiya, Arafat Jaradat and Hassan Turabi, who died recently in the socalled "Afula prison's hospital ". The number of Palestinian prisoners who died in the Israeli prisons as a result critical health conditions has reached to 208 prisoner addition to 1400 Palestinian prisoners at the Israeli prisons who suffers from various serious diseases; 170 of them need urgent surgical operations, 85 of them are suffering from various disabilities, 25 prisoners have cancer and do not receive any needed treatment and 16 prisoners resides in the so-called Al-Ramla prison's hospital. Therefore, today the death risk threats hundreds of prisoners' lives due to the government intended neglect

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