Scabies Hits 80 Percent of Palestinian Prisoners, Rights Group Says
(MENAFN) Scabies has infected roughly 80% of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, children among them, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said Sunday, drawing on accounts from current inmates and freed detainees.
In a briefing, the nongovernmental group said its legal teams visited dozens of prisoners in October and early November. Acute clothing shortages and overcrowding fueled the outbreak, it said, while treatment for those infected was inadequate.
The society said the testimonies point to a “systematic policy” of abuse, starvation and medical neglect throughout Israeli prisons.
Alleged Raids and Beatings
Prisoners told lawyers that special units of the Israel Prison Service entered wings with dogs and fired rubber-coated bullets and other weapons the inmates could not identify. Some described burns or said they were briefly unable to move after being hit. Others reported broken teeth, fractured ribs and bruising from beatings. The society said the frequency of raids varied by prison, with some wings hit every two or three days.
The society presented testimonies from several detainees at Negev Prison in southern Israel, saying they reflect conditions elsewhere. It identified the men only by initials to shield them from reprisal. Many were reluctant to speak, it said, after some prisoners were badly beaten on their way to visits.
A.B. said his hand tendons were severed during a raid and he needed surgery. The society also said units raided Section 24 at 7 am on Oct. 28, confiscating mattresses and assaulting detainees. D.H. said that raid involved gas and rubber bullets, wounding three men, and that officers stormed several cells and beat detainees severely.
In Section 26, M.K. said several of his teeth were broken in an assault. The visiting lawyer said he appeared visibly afraid while recounting the incident. Detainees were also barred during the visit from signing the powers of attorney needed to pursue their cases.
M.S. said guards deliberately pulled mattresses during the day, forcing detainees onto the floor or bare metal bunks. He said the practice was especially hard on sick and older prisoners, particularly those with bone or limb ailments. M.H. said yard access was left to the guards’ discretion and that crowding forced most detainees to sleep on cell floors.
In Section 25, N.Y. described the dread detainees feel before roll call, or what the authorities call a “security check,” because such checks often brought raids and heavy beatings. He said he was beaten and left bruised across his body.
Women Held at Damon Prison
Women held at Damon Prison in northern Israel reported similar conditions, including starvation, systematic repression, searches, mistreatment and denial of rights, the society said. It alleged that authorities used access to medical care and basic necessities as a tool of humiliation.
Conditions deteriorated as more women were detained, worsening overcrowding and clothing shortages, the group said. Some women reported limb spasms, skin bumps and itching so severe it prevented sleep.
Prison authorities continued to deny the women had scabies and blamed allergies, the society said, although tests after their release confirmed the disease.
The group renewed its appeal to international human rights organizations, criticizing what it called their continued inability to act “in the face of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation system against prisoners, aimed at destroying them physically and psychologically.”
More than 9,300 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including about 90 women, according to the society.
In a briefing, the nongovernmental group said its legal teams visited dozens of prisoners in October and early November. Acute clothing shortages and overcrowding fueled the outbreak, it said, while treatment for those infected was inadequate.
The society said the testimonies point to a “systematic policy” of abuse, starvation and medical neglect throughout Israeli prisons.
Alleged Raids and Beatings
Prisoners told lawyers that special units of the Israel Prison Service entered wings with dogs and fired rubber-coated bullets and other weapons the inmates could not identify. Some described burns or said they were briefly unable to move after being hit. Others reported broken teeth, fractured ribs and bruising from beatings. The society said the frequency of raids varied by prison, with some wings hit every two or three days.
The society presented testimonies from several detainees at Negev Prison in southern Israel, saying they reflect conditions elsewhere. It identified the men only by initials to shield them from reprisal. Many were reluctant to speak, it said, after some prisoners were badly beaten on their way to visits.
A.B. said his hand tendons were severed during a raid and he needed surgery. The society also said units raided Section 24 at 7 am on Oct. 28, confiscating mattresses and assaulting detainees. D.H. said that raid involved gas and rubber bullets, wounding three men, and that officers stormed several cells and beat detainees severely.
In Section 26, M.K. said several of his teeth were broken in an assault. The visiting lawyer said he appeared visibly afraid while recounting the incident. Detainees were also barred during the visit from signing the powers of attorney needed to pursue their cases.
M.S. said guards deliberately pulled mattresses during the day, forcing detainees onto the floor or bare metal bunks. He said the practice was especially hard on sick and older prisoners, particularly those with bone or limb ailments. M.H. said yard access was left to the guards’ discretion and that crowding forced most detainees to sleep on cell floors.
In Section 25, N.Y. described the dread detainees feel before roll call, or what the authorities call a “security check,” because such checks often brought raids and heavy beatings. He said he was beaten and left bruised across his body.
Women Held at Damon Prison
Women held at Damon Prison in northern Israel reported similar conditions, including starvation, systematic repression, searches, mistreatment and denial of rights, the society said. It alleged that authorities used access to medical care and basic necessities as a tool of humiliation.
Conditions deteriorated as more women were detained, worsening overcrowding and clothing shortages, the group said. Some women reported limb spasms, skin bumps and itching so severe it prevented sleep.
Prison authorities continued to deny the women had scabies and blamed allergies, the society said, although tests after their release confirmed the disease.
The group renewed its appeal to international human rights organizations, criticizing what it called their continued inability to act “in the face of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation system against prisoners, aimed at destroying them physically and psychologically.”
More than 9,300 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, including about 90 women, according to the society.
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