November 18, 2021
Palestinian Imprisoned by Israel, Sami al-‘Amour, Dies due to Intentional Medical Neglect
Palestinian Imprisoned by Israel, Sami al-‘Amour, Dies due to Intentional Medical Neglect

 

Ref: 133/2021

Date: 18 November 2021

Time: 10:30 GMT

 

 

This morning, Palestinian prisoner, Sami ‘Abed Mahmoud al-‘Amour (39), from Deir al-Balah refugee camp, died after he was transported from “Nafhah” prison to “Soroka” Hospital on suspicions of intentional medical neglect by the Israeli authorities.  The prisoner, who spent 13 years in prison, suffered from health problems, including blockage of coronary arteries. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) calls for a prompt and impartial investigation into al-‘Amour’s death circumstances.  PCHR expresses its extreme concern that Israeli authorities stalled in providing adequate and timely medical care for the deceased prisoner.

 

 The Israeli occupation authorities arrested al-‘Amour on 01 April 2008 and sentenced him to 19 years in prison. Al-‘Amour had health problems throughout his imprisonment period as he suffered from a congenital heart defect and blockage of arteries.  The Israeli authorities did not provide him the adequate treatment for his diseases, so his health deteriorated and he was transported to “Soroka” hospital in Beersheba in Israel, where he was pronounced dead earlier today.

 

Al-‘Amour’s sheds light on the deterioration of Palestinian prisoners’ conditions in the Israeli prisons and reveals the inhuman measures employed against them, particularly the medical negligence and withholding of necessary treatments for hundreds of patients, especially those with chronic and serious diseases.

 

PCHR holds the Israeli government fully responsible for the death of al-‘Amour, and for the lives of 550 ill prisoners, who would face the same fate if the policy of deliberate medical negligence continues, especially under the unhealthy imprisonment conditions where prisoners are denied adequate healthcare. Similarly, PCHR:

 

  1. Calls for a prompt and impartial investigation into the death circumstances.
  2. Calls upon the International Committee of Red Crescent (ICRC) to intensify and ensure efficacy of their follow-up of the conditions of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails and their imprisonment conditions.
  3. Calls upon the international community to compel Israel to respect international law and international humanitarian law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.