Warnings of a serious deterioration in the living and health conditions of prisoners in Naqab Prison

The Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs and Ex-Prisoners' Commission issued a new human rights report warning of the accelerating deterioration in the living and health conditions of detainees held in the desert Naqab Prison. This report was based on field visits conducted by the Commission's lawyer to a number of administrative detainees, where he documented horrific testimonies about the nature of daily life inside the prison. Sources confirmed that prisoners face a severe shortage of essential summer clothing, in addition to being provided with poor quality and quantity of food.

The documented testimonies touched upon the critical health condition of a number of detainees, including 19-year-old Hashem Ma'moun Mahasneh, who suffers from severe tooth pain and the spread of skin fungi without treatment. Prisoner Imad Muayyad Habash also suffers from blood pressure disorders and hearing impairment due to a previous injury that was not properly medically treated. These cases reflect the systematic medical negligence policy pursued by the prison administration against Palestinian detainees.

In a related context, the report revealed a severe deterioration in the health of prisoner Mu'taz Hisham Yaqoub, who lost about 40 kilograms of his weight due to harsh conditions and is in urgent need of antibiotics to treat infections resulting from previous surgeries. Prisoner Muhammad Raja Al-Khatib also suffers from symptoms of scabies and hearing impairment, due to being subjected to violent physical assaults during his presence in a previous prison before being transferred to Naqab, which exacerbates his daily suffering.

Regarding administrative detention, the Commission's lawyer monitored the continued detention of a group of prisoners without clear charges for long periods, with prisoner Rami Rashid Hilal spending his sixteenth month in administrative detention. Prisoners Adam Muhammad Abu Bakr and Abdul Rahman Basisi also face administrative extension decisions for the fourth consecutive time, a policy used by the occupation authorities to keep young Palestinians behind bars for as long as possible without trial.

The Commission concluded its report by referring to the situation of prisoner Mustafa Mahmoud Al-Saadi, who is undergoing his third administrative extension, and prisoner Ahmed Muhammad Sarari, who is awaiting release early next year. The Commission stressed the need for international and human rights organizations to intervene to address these blatant violations and pressure the occupation authorities to stop physical and verbal assaults and provide necessary medical care and basic humanitarian needs for all prisoners.

Detainees face difficult conditions related to a shortage of summer clothing and poor food, in addition to repeated complaints of poor medical care and exposure to physical and verbal assaults.