The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission said that five Palestinian prisoners languishing in the Israeli Naqab prison are suffering from serious medical conditions and are in dire need of immediate treatment.
The commission reviewed in a statement some aspects of medical malpractice and violations perpetrated against Palestinian prisoners by the Israeli prison administration in Naqab jail, including the deliberate indifference in neglecting and procrastinating in delivering necessary treatment and much-needed surgeries.
The commission cited the case of 81-year old Fuad al-Shobaki, the oldest Palestinian prisoner currently held in an Israeli Naqab jail and whom throughout the years of detention was subjected to systematic medical negligence by the Israeli prison service.
He suffers from many health problems due to old age and is in need of special care; He suffers from prostate cancer, and various problems in the Heart, eyes, and stomach and is in pressing need of cataract surgery, but the prison administration keeps stalling his treatment.
In 2013, Shobaki was scheduled to undergo laser surgery to remove a cyst that was discovered under his kidneys, but at that time they performed a wrong operation on him and removed part of his abdominal muscles.
The commission also cited the cases of four other sick prisoners who are suffering from deteriorating health conditions due to a systematic policy of medical negligence by the prison authorities against them.
According to Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights organization, “in regard to adequate medical attention and treatment, Article 91 [of the Fourth Geneva Convention] emphasizes that “every place of internment shall have an adequate infirmary ” and that “Internees may not be prevented from presenting themselves to the medical authority for examination.” In addition to this article, Article 92 asserts that “Medical inspections of internees shall be made at least once a month “. It is evident that the withholding of treatment, or access to a medical professional, is a violation of these specific provisions, and therefore a violation of international humanitarian law.” Addameer asserts that the Israeli Prison Service maintains a systematic policy of medical negligence toward Palestinian detainees.
The Palestine Detainees Studies Center said around 60% of the Palestinian prisoners detained in Israeli jails, suffer from chronic diseases, a number of whom died in detention or after being released due to the severity of their cases caused by a deliberate medical negligence policy.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency