Ghoul: Suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails increase in winter

[ 01/11/2009 - 11:18 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian justice minister in Gaza and chairman of the legal committee in the Palestinian legislative council Mohammed Al-Ghoul has said that the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation authority (IOA) jails double in the winter season. He called on human rights groups in a statement on Saturday to pressure the IOA into securing the prisoners' needs topped by adequate covers and clothes. Ghoul underlined that many Israeli jails such as Negev, Beersheba and Nafha are built of worn out tents through which rain seeps damaging the prisoners' belongings. He charged the Israeli prisons authority with delaying any change of the worn out tents while claiming that they are still fit for use. Many prisoners complain of pains in their joints and bones because the Israeli jailors force them to strip their clothes for search amidst high humidity in the jails, the minister elaborated. He asked international organizations to protect the Palestinian prisoners from such maltreatment and the bad weather conditions. Ghoul noted that the 800 prisoners from Gaza suffer more than others because they have been deprived of family visits for the past 30 months, which led to acute shortage in clothes and bedcovers.