NOVANEWS
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is gravely concerned over the life of Derar Abu Sisi, a Palestinian prisoner who has been in solitary confinement in Ashkelon prison for 2 years. PCHR holds Israel fully responsible for the life of Abu Sisi and calls upon the international community to pressurize Israel to put an end to the use of solitary confinement.
Today, 20 February 2013, PCHR’s lawyer visited Derar Mousa Yuses Abu Sisi, 44. According to Abu Sisi’s statement to PCHR’s lawyer, he has been kept in solitary confinement since 19 February 2011. He is unable to talk with anybody and the only people he has seen are the Israeli judge and his lawyer. Abu Sisi remains in detention despite appeals that he let be out of solitary confinement. However, the Israeli judge rejected all the appeals, as the Israeli prosecution maintains a confidential file. Abu Sisi confirmed to PCHR’s lawyer that his health condition has been deteriorating and that he now takes 9 types of medicine, as he suffers from gallstones, hemophilia, migraine, high blood pressure, back aches, shortness of breath, and malnutrition due to an extreme loss of weight.
It should be noted that Abu Sisi was a director of the operation department in the Gaza power plant. He was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence officers on 19 February 2011, when he was in Ukraine, after which he was transported to Israel. There was an Israeli media blackout on the kidnap. A PCHR’s lawyer was able to visit him several times; the first visit took place on 20 March 2011.
PCHR is concerned over the deterioration of Abu Sisi’ health condition, and:
1- Calls upon the Israeli prison administration to end the solitary confinement of Abu Sis, and to transfer him to another place in accordance with his medical needs;
2- Is concerned over the continuing deterioration of living conditions under which over 4,700 Palestinian prisoners are detained in Israeli jails, 186 of whom are detained under the administrative detention procedure, in violation of the basic right to a fair trial.
