WEST BANK (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime barred imprisoned Palestinian lawmaker and political prisoner Khalida Jarrar from attending her daughter’s funeral on Monday, a day after she died from cardiac arrest.
Jarrar - a prominent political activist and member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - was sentenced in March to two years in prison by a military court for “inciting violence” and belonging to a “banned organization”.
She was arrested at her home in Ramallah on 31 October 2019 and is slated to be released from prison in September.
Jarrar’s daughter, Suha, 31, was found dead on Sunday evening in her house in the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian news media reported. Reports said she died of a heart attack and had previously suffered from illnesses, without giving more details.
Palestinian activists had called on the Zionist regime to temporarily release Jarrar, with an online petition saying she had the right to take part in her daughter’s funeral.
However, Rafael Gana, assistant to the prison service commissioner, said that Jarrar’s “request doesn’t meet the prerequisites for consideration”.
The family decided to hold the funeral without her on Tuesday, after learning she was denied a request for temporary release to attend.
Palestinian police are still examining the circumstances of Suha’s death. However, a preliminary investigation does not indicate any criminal wrongdoing. Family sources told Haaretz that the body will undergo an autopsy.