The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) accused the Israeli prison administration of using the Coronavirus as a pretext to continue with the imposition of abusive measures against Palestinian prisoners, rather than providing the necessary measurements to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Fearing for their lives as an initial step in condemnation of the Israeli prison administration’s negligence and measures against them, Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails returned their meals today and announced a lock-down on two sections on Saturday and Sunday.
PPS said the prison’s canteens stopped supplying prisoners with 140 products, including cleaning products which are a grave necessity in light of the novel Coronavirus outbreak, particularly amid the lack of hygiene products inside the crowded cells that already lack basic health standards.
Furthermore, the Israeli prison service has conditioned prisoners’ visits to the prisons’ clinics with the suffering of high fever, preventing and cancelling all other medical check-ups, including necessary medical visits of injured and sick prisoners.
PPS reiterated its call for all international organizations, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to intensify efforts on following-up on prisoners and to pressure the IPS to provide prisoners with preventive measures against the spread of Coronavirus and to stop exploitation of the current situations for the imposition of more abusive measures against prisoners.
He also called to keep contact with the families of the prisoners, especially the sick, in light of the IPS recent decisions to cancel all family and lawyers visits.
There are currently 5000 Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails, including 180 minors, 43 females, and 700 sick people, most of whom suffer from chronic diseases.
