Occupied Ramallah- Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association holds the Israeli Occupation forces and the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) responsible for the life of 16 year-old Mohammad Azzeh. Addameer expresses its utmost concern that Mohammad’s deteriorating health condition is caused by his continued detention and medical negligence by prison staff.
Addameer Lawyer Aouda Zbeidat was able to visit Mohammad Azzeh at “Shaare Zedek” Medical Center where she reviewed his medical reports, which revealed that the child arrived at the hospital in a very critical condition and doctors had to use electric shocks to revive his heart.
Zbeidat assured that Mohammad’s health condition is now stable and he is awake, however, he is still unable to speak and is only capable of breathing through an artificial breathing tube that is inserted through his mouth.
Zbeidat added that the IPS special forces shackled the child to his bed using metal shackles in disregard for his delicate medical condition. She also confirms that the IPS special units are imposing drastic guarding measures on his hospital room, denying him family visits, who have been prevented from seeing him since his arrest.
On 25/11/2013, Zbeidat told a Military Court Judge that Mohammed’s immediate release was necessary because his continued detention poses a grave threat to his life, especiallybecause he suffers from Asthma. She also emphasized the importance of providing her with a medical report to assess the health status of the child Mohammad Azzeh.
At a hearing held on 8/12/2013, the Addameer lawyer received a copy of the medical report written by Schokman Yizrael, a doctor at Ofer Military Prison. The reportclaimed that the detention of Mohammad Azzeh does not pose any danger to his life,and that the prison is qualified to provide him with the needed medical services.
However, the falsity of this claim was soon apparent when Mohammad’s health deteriorated on Wednesday 18/12/2013, and he was not transferred to the hospital immediately. The prison administration waited until Friday 20/12/2013 to transfer him to the prison clinic, where he was examined by a nurse who recommended that he should be transferred to “Shaare Zedek” medical center based on his critical health condition.
The Occupation Forces arrested Mohammad from his home in Bethlehem on 16/11/2013, after raiding his house and confiscating his father’s identification. Mohammad’s father informed the soldiers that Mohammed suffers from asthma and takes a number of medications on daily basis, which causes him to be unable to tolerate closed spaces. However, The Occupation Forces did not show any concern about the matter and immediately transferred Mohammad to Ofer Military Prison, where he was exposed to interrogation for several days. Mohammed did not have access to a court hearing until five days after the arrest.
As of this writing, a future court hearing regarding Mohammad’s case will be held on Wednesday 25/12/2013 at Ofer Military Court, but the hearing will proceed in the absence of Mohammad, since he is receiving treatment at the hospital.
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association calls on the Children‘s Rights & Emergency Relief Organization (UNICEF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to condemn the arrest of Palestinian children and their exposure to military courtsin violation of Articles 64 and 66 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Addameer also calls on exposing the occupation’s continuous violation of children’s rights that are guaranteed in more than 27 international conventions.