PRESS RELEASE
Released @ 12.00 hours GMT 22 June 1998
Palestinian prisoner dies in Ramli Prison Hospital
Yesterday, June 21, 1998, Palestinian prisoner Yousef Al-Ar’ear died at the hospital of Ramli Prison in Israel, ten hours after being transferred there from Tel Hashomer Hospital where he underwent bypass surgery a month ago. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) feels that there is strong reason to believe that the death of Al-Ar’ear resulted from medical negligence on the part of staff at Ramli Prison Hospital and demands immediate investigation by an international committee.
Yousef Al-Ar’ear, born in Gaza in 1938, was arrested three times by the Israeli authorities: first in 1968, at which time he was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment; second in 1974, at which time he was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment; and finally in 1987, at which time he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Al-Ar’ear was afflicted with heart disease and was transferred from prison in Ashkelon to Tel Hashomer Hospital near Tel Aviv where he underwent bypass surgery on May 18, 1998, without the knowledge of his family.
According to family sources, the family was informed of the surgery only on June 4, more than 2 weeks after the surgery was performed. At that time Al-Ar’ear was in the Intensive Care Unit where his wife visited him for the first time, after intervention from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). His wife was again able to visit him on June 21 again due to intervention on the part of the ICRC. Al-Ar’ear’s wife informed the Centre that she spoke with Al-Ar’ear for more than an hour on June 21 and that he was stable and in good health. However, on the very same day, Al-Ar’ear was transferred at 11am from Tel Hashomer Hospital to Ramli Prison Hospital where he died around 9:30pm, almost 10 hours after his arrival.
Comments of the PCHR:
- Dr. Salim Haj Yahia, the surgeon who performed the bypass surgery, informed the Centre that the operation was very successful and that Al-Ar’ear was not allowed to be transferred from Tel Hashomer Hospital until his condition was stable and he had fully recovered from the surgery. Dr. Yahia expressed his anger and shock when he was informed about the death of his patient 10 hours after transfer from Tel Hashomer Hospital.
- Al-Ar’ear’s wife and relatives were informed of his operation more than two weeks after the surgery was performed. His wife was not permitted to visit him until after intervention on the part of the ICRC. Despite the humanitarian nature of the circumstances and the medical condition of Al-Ar’ear, his wife was not allowed to pay him regular visits during his hospitalization. These inhumane practices of the Israeli authorities should be condemned worldwide. The PCHR reiterates its warning, and the warnings of all human rights organizations, regarding the inhumane conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, including those who are patients and who are deprived of their basic humanitarian rights such as the right to receive regular family visits.
- Human rights organizations have continually focused on the ill-treatment and the negligence of medical care for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli hospital jails and military hospitals, which have led to the deaths of many Palestinian prisoners throughout the years of Israeli occupation. The death of Al-Ar’ear, just 10 hours after his transfer to the Ramli Prison Hospital, raises serious questions about the circumstances and cause of his death, particularly in light of the information released by his doctor at Tel Hashomer hospital.
Consequently, the PCHR demands urgent intervention from the international community and the formation of an international committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Yousef Al-Arear and to investigate the living conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, especially those who are medical patients.
