WEST BANK (Dispatches) – The deteriorating health conditions of freed Palestinian prisoners reflect the systematic torture in the Zionist regime’s jails, a Geneva-based rights group says, calling the Israeli prisons “graves for the living”, Anadolu Agency reports.
In a statement, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor shared an image of a freed Palestinian prisoner showing severe signs of health deterioration.
“The poor health of Palestinian detainees and prisoners released by Israel as part of the ceasefire agreements in the Gaza Strip reflects the terrible conditions they endured while in custody, including torture, mistreatment and degrading abuses that persisted until the very last minute,” it said.
Hundreds of Palestinians were released by the Zionist regime in return for 18 captives under the ceasefire deal that took effect on January 19.
“The majority (of prisoners) appeared to be in a serious state of decline, with each of them losing several kilograms of weight due to what appears to be intentional starvation,” the rights group said.
“Many of the inmates and detainees required immediate hospital transfers for critical medical examinations. One, in particular, seemed incapable of recognizing his future after being denied treatment while in custody.”
The Euro-Med Monitor said the poor health conditions of the freed Palestinian prisoners demonstrate “how Israel has transformed its jails into institutionalized torture facilities.”
“Until the final moments before their release, most of the detainees endured psychological torture in addition to mistreatment and beatings.”
The rights group said the Israeli practices “constitute a blatant violation of human rights and the rights of prisoners and detainees guaranteed by international law because they mirror the abuse, humiliation, starvation and systematic torture that they endured both during their detention and after being released.”
The violations “extended beyond subpar detention conditions and turned into a systematic policy of retaliation against all Palestinian prisoners and detainees,” it added.
“Detainees were subjected to severe torture, intentional starvation and prolonged solitary confinement as part of punitive measures that ramped up brutally after the events in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to punish them for nothing more than the fact that they were Palestinians.”
The rights group cited the testimony of a freed Palestinian boy, who called the conditions in the Israeli prisons “graves for the living”.
“I call for a widespread protest against the sadistic practices of Israel towards Palestinian detainees,” Ramy Abdu, head of the Euro-Med Monitor, said on his X account.
“Demonstrations must be held in front of ICRC offices,” Abdu added.