Ref: 63/2019
Date: 7 Sep 2019
Press Release,
Amid imminent danger threatening his life at any moment
ICSPR holds the occupation authorities full responsibility for the life of the prisoner Bassam al-Sayeh in their prison
The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights “ICSPR” expresses its deep concern over the life of the prisoner, Bassam Al-Sayeh “47 yr”, from Nablus, who was arrested on 8 October 2015 and sentenced to life imprisonment twice, in addition to another 30 years.
According to the data available to the Commission, the prisoner “Sayeh” was arrested on the above date, when the Israeli occupation forces raided his house, and took him to the prison “Ramla”, before being sentenced to life imprisonment twice, and (30) additional years, and subjected him to cruel torture and deliberate medical negligence, in clear violation of the basic principles of treatment of prisoners adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979 and 1990, which emphasized the protection of prisoners’ health and medical care, and the obligations of the occupation authorities under the provisions of international humanitarian law as an occupation force. According to the data, the prisoner “Sayeh”, is one of the most serious medical conditions in prisons, after suffering from leukemia and bone cancer, and a growing weakness in the heart muscle, which has a capacity of up to 25%, and also recently began to suffer from the accumulation of water in his body, specifically on his lungs, which ,ay kill him any moment.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights “ICSPR” holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the life of the prisoner “Sayeh” and all Palestinian prisoners in their prisons, and stresses that the continuation of the policy of torture and cruel treatment and medical negligence against prisoners and detainees, constitutes a real threat to their lives, ICSPR also believes that the silence of the international community and its human rights organizations about the crimes of the occupation against Palestinian prisoners considered a green light to commit more violations against them, and therefore affirms and demands the following:
- ICSPR reaffirms that the international community must compel the occupation state to abide by international human rights standards, in particular the conventions and covenants on the rights of prisoners and other persons deprived of their liberty, such as the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners of 1955, and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment of 1988.
- ICSPR calls upon the Palestinian leadership to refer the file of Israeli violations against prisoners and detainees to the International Criminal Court, and urges it to open an immediate investigation into the serious violations against Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons.
- ICSPR calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intervene quickly to save Sayeh’s life before it is too late.
Regards,
