Jerusalem24– A court hearing scheduled for today to consider a prison request to extend the solitary confinement of Ahmad Manasra has been postponed to 6 July 2022. Manasra was transferred to Al-Ramleh Prison Hospital Monday during the night due to “the deterioration of his mental health.”
The defense team for Manasra released a statement today 15 June:
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]“The court session scheduled for today at the Beersheba District Court to consider the prison authority’s request to extend the solitary confinement of the child prisoner Ahmad Manasra has been postponed to 6 July 2022, due to the deteriorating health condition of the child prisoner Ahmad Manasra, who was transferred to Al-Ramleh Hospital.”[/box]
21-year-old Manasra was arrested as a 13-year-old boy in 2015 for carrying out a stabbing attack in which two Israelis were injured. His 15-year-old cousin Hassan Manasra was shot and killed by Israeli police during the same attack. Ahmad Manasra was sentenced in 2016 to 12 years in prison, later reduced to nine and a half years.
A court hearing was originally scheduled on 15 May to consider a prison request to extend Manasra’s detention in solitary confinement by six months, but was postponed until 15 June while the court considered the effect of solitary confinement on his mental health.
Manasra remained in solitary confinement until Monday when he was transferred to Al-Ramleh Prison Hospital.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has stated that “solitary confinement can, in certain circumstances, amount to inhuman and degrading treatment; in any event, all forms of solitary confinement should be as short as possible.”
Milena Ansari, International Advocacy Officer at Addameer, told Jerusalem24 in an interview in May that in the case of Manasra, torture and ill-treatment were compounded by deliberate medical neglect as well as the continuation of his arrest.
Manasra’s defense team stated yesterday that they hold the Israeli authorities fully responsible for compromising Manasra’s safety and health.
