Amnesty International has urged Israel to ‘immediately’ release Ahmad Manasra, a 20-year-old Palestinian man who was arrested seven years ago as a child, The New Arab reported.
Manasra has reportedly developed serious mental problems since his arrest as a 13-year-old.
Manasra was first arrested in 2015 and was ‘harshly interrogated’ and threatened by Israeli authorities, according to Amnesty. He was placed in solitary confinement in early November 2021 and has been there ever since.
He has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffers from psychotic delusions, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
“Ahmad Manasra has been subjected to a catalog of injustices by the Israeli authorities, including deleterious effects of incarceration on his development and prolonged solitary confinement,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa in the press release.
“He endured ill-treatment during interrogations, which were conducted without his parents or lawyers’ presence, and was denied the right to a fair trial. He should have been released a long time ago, yet he remains in unnecessary suffering in Israeli prisons.”
Israel has a long record of human rights abuses against Palestinians, including children.
The widespread use of administrative detention without trial goes back decades. Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian land and its persecution and violence against Palestinians have been defined as apartheid by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
