26 nov 2019
Sami Abu Diyak in a rare picture with his mother during a visit to prison and his last message before his death
The cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Sami Ahed Abu Diyak died this morning while in prison in Israel, alone and without being seen off by anyone and away from his mother whom his last wish was to die in her arms. video
"To every person with conscience, I live my last hours and days. I want to be in my last days and hours beside my mother and my loved ones, and I want to die in her arms. I do not want to die while I my hands and feet are cuffed and in front of a jailer who loves death and nurtures and delights by our pains and sufferings." This was Abu Diyak’s last message from the prison.
In recent weeks, Abu Diyak refused to go to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, saying: "I want to die among my fellow prisoners who are sick here in the Ramla clinic."
Abu Diyak spent 17 years in Israeli jails after his arrest on July 17, 2002, and was sentenced to triple life terms plus 30 years.
He was the second prisoner to slowly die in prison due to medical negligence during this year. He was preceded by the Bassam Sayeh, who died on September 8.
In recent years, the Israel Prison Services (IPS) prevented his relatives from visiting him, leaving him struggling with his chronic intestinal cancer without providing him with the environment and health conditions needed by a person with cancer.
With the death of Abu Diyak, the number of prisoners who died from incarceration since 1967 has reached 222, including 67 prisoners who died as a result of the policy of deliberate medical negligence.
Born in the town of Silat al-Dahr, south of Jenin, on April 26, 1983, Abu Diyak has five siblings, including a brother, Samer, who is also in prison.
There is about 700 sick prisoners in Israel, including 200 chronic medical cases in need of continuous treatment and at least 10 cases of cancer.
The total number of prisoners in Israel is approximately 5000.
It should be noted that Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention affirms that medical care for prisoners must be provided, which is something Abu Diyak did not receive because it was not available in the Ramla prison clinic, where he was kept most of the time during his sickness.
Rule 27 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states: “All prisons shall ensure prompt access to medical care in urgent cases.
Prisoners requiring specialized care or surgery shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civilian hospitals. When a prison has its own medical service with hospital facilities, it shall be staffed with sufficient staff and equipment to provide appropriate treatment and care to the prisoners referred to it.”
In the case of the prisoner Sami Abu Diyak, he did not receive immediate medical care and did not stay in qualified civilian hospitals for a sufficient period in his serious health situation. He was regularly transferred between the civilian hospitals and the Ramla prison clinic, which does not include the hospital facilities. Equipped with no specialized staff and appropriate treatment services.
The cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Sami Ahed Abu Diyak died this morning while in prison in Israel, alone and without being seen off by anyone and away from his mother whom his last wish was to die in her arms. video
"To every person with conscience, I live my last hours and days. I want to be in my last days and hours beside my mother and my loved ones, and I want to die in her arms. I do not want to die while I my hands and feet are cuffed and in front of a jailer who loves death and nurtures and delights by our pains and sufferings." This was Abu Diyak’s last message from the prison.
In recent weeks, Abu Diyak refused to go to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, saying: "I want to die among my fellow prisoners who are sick here in the Ramla clinic."
Abu Diyak spent 17 years in Israeli jails after his arrest on July 17, 2002, and was sentenced to triple life terms plus 30 years.
He was the second prisoner to slowly die in prison due to medical negligence during this year. He was preceded by the Bassam Sayeh, who died on September 8.
In recent years, the Israel Prison Services (IPS) prevented his relatives from visiting him, leaving him struggling with his chronic intestinal cancer without providing him with the environment and health conditions needed by a person with cancer.
With the death of Abu Diyak, the number of prisoners who died from incarceration since 1967 has reached 222, including 67 prisoners who died as a result of the policy of deliberate medical negligence.
Born in the town of Silat al-Dahr, south of Jenin, on April 26, 1983, Abu Diyak has five siblings, including a brother, Samer, who is also in prison.
There is about 700 sick prisoners in Israel, including 200 chronic medical cases in need of continuous treatment and at least 10 cases of cancer.
The total number of prisoners in Israel is approximately 5000.
It should be noted that Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention affirms that medical care for prisoners must be provided, which is something Abu Diyak did not receive because it was not available in the Ramla prison clinic, where he was kept most of the time during his sickness.
Rule 27 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners states: “All prisons shall ensure prompt access to medical care in urgent cases.
Prisoners requiring specialized care or surgery shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civilian hospitals. When a prison has its own medical service with hospital facilities, it shall be staffed with sufficient staff and equipment to provide appropriate treatment and care to the prisoners referred to it.”
In the case of the prisoner Sami Abu Diyak, he did not receive immediate medical care and did not stay in qualified civilian hospitals for a sufficient period in his serious health situation. He was regularly transferred between the civilian hospitals and the Ramla prison clinic, which does not include the hospital facilities. Equipped with no specialized staff and appropriate treatment services.
Sami Abu Diak, 37
The Palestinian Detainees’ Committee has confirmed, on Tuesday morning, that a detainee died at an Israeli hospital after he was systematically denied specialized medical care, leading to serious complications that resulted in his death.
The Committee stated that the detainee, Sami Abu Diak, 37, was only moved to Assaf Harofeh Israeli Medical Center after a sharp decline in his health.
It also said that its lawyers filed several appeals with Israeli courts, asking to allow his release to receive specialized medical treatment in Palestine, or abroad, but its requested were all denied.
“Sami was subjected to a deliberate policy denying him the right to adequate medical care,” the committee said, “Despite the serious decline in his health, and the constant complications, he was not provided with the urgently needed specialized care, and was only moved to a hospital when he neared death.”
It is worth mentioning that Sami Abu Diak, 37, was from Sielet ath-Thaher town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and was serving three life terms and an additional 30 years in prison.
He was taken prisoner on July 17, 2002, and was first diagnosed with intestinal cancer in August of 2015, and underwent surgery, after the prison authority moved him to Soroka Medical Center, but due to a misdiagnosis and a medical error, he faced serious complications, and some of his intestines were removed.
Abu Diak underwent various surgeries, and suffered further complications, including pulmonary and renal failures, in addition to cancer and skin poisoning, and his condition continued to deteriorate since then.
Before his death, Abu Diak’s final message was:
To those with a living conscious…
I am living my final hours and days, there is nothing I would like more than spending them near my mother; between my loved ones, I would love to utter my last breath in my mother’s arms; I do not wish to die cuffed and shackled,
I do not want to die in front of a jailor who loves death, and feeds on our pain and suffering,
Will my words even reach the ears and minds of leaders?!
I am telling, if I die far away from my mother, I will never forgive you…
Detainee Sami Abu Diak
The Palestinian Detainees’ Committee has confirmed, on Tuesday morning, that a detainee died at an Israeli hospital after he was systematically denied specialized medical care, leading to serious complications that resulted in his death.
The Committee stated that the detainee, Sami Abu Diak, 37, was only moved to Assaf Harofeh Israeli Medical Center after a sharp decline in his health.
It also said that its lawyers filed several appeals with Israeli courts, asking to allow his release to receive specialized medical treatment in Palestine, or abroad, but its requested were all denied.
“Sami was subjected to a deliberate policy denying him the right to adequate medical care,” the committee said, “Despite the serious decline in his health, and the constant complications, he was not provided with the urgently needed specialized care, and was only moved to a hospital when he neared death.”
It is worth mentioning that Sami Abu Diak, 37, was from Sielet ath-Thaher town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and was serving three life terms and an additional 30 years in prison.
He was taken prisoner on July 17, 2002, and was first diagnosed with intestinal cancer in August of 2015, and underwent surgery, after the prison authority moved him to Soroka Medical Center, but due to a misdiagnosis and a medical error, he faced serious complications, and some of his intestines were removed.
Abu Diak underwent various surgeries, and suffered further complications, including pulmonary and renal failures, in addition to cancer and skin poisoning, and his condition continued to deteriorate since then.
Before his death, Abu Diak’s final message was:
To those with a living conscious…
I am living my final hours and days, there is nothing I would like more than spending them near my mother; between my loved ones, I would love to utter my last breath in my mother’s arms; I do not wish to die cuffed and shackled,
I do not want to die in front of a jailor who loves death, and feeds on our pain and suffering,
Will my words even reach the ears and minds of leaders?!
I am telling, if I die far away from my mother, I will never forgive you…
Detainee Sami Abu Diak
10 sept 2019
Israeli prison forces on Monday physically assaulted a number of Palestinian prisoners after storming their cells in Gilboa jail.
According to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, special prison forces brutally beat and maltreated some prisoners during raids on their cells in Gilboa.
Consequently, many prisoners protested by shouting and banging on doors and decided to reject the meals served to them by jailers.
Palestinian prisoners in all Israeli jails have been boiling with anger since the death of prisoner Bassam as-Sa’yeh on Sunday in an Israeli hospital.
According to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, special prison forces brutally beat and maltreated some prisoners during raids on their cells in Gilboa.
Consequently, many prisoners protested by shouting and banging on doors and decided to reject the meals served to them by jailers.
Palestinian prisoners in all Israeli jails have been boiling with anger since the death of prisoner Bassam as-Sa’yeh on Sunday in an Israeli hospital.
One Palestinian young man suffered serious bullet injuries during violent clashes on Monday evening with the Israeli occupation forces in al-Bireh city.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, a young man was seriously injured in his chest and abdomen when Israeli soldiers opened fire at angry youths in al-Bireh city.
The young man was rushed in serious condition to the operating room in Palestine Hospital in Ramallah. There is still no information if he survived the injuries.
Violent clashes broke out on Monday afternoon between dozens of young protesters and Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance to al-Bireh city after the former staged a protest to denounce the death of prisoner Bassam as-Sa’yeh in Israeli jails.
Israeli Soldiers Seriously Injure A Young Man Near Ramallah
Israeli soldiers shot and seriously injured, on Monday afternoon, a young man, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, after the army attacked youngsters protesting the death of a Palestinian detainee in Israeli prison.
The Palestinian was seriously injured by Israeli army fire, north of al-Biereh city, and was rushed to Palestine Medical Complex, in Ramallah, suffering a life-threatening injury, before he was admitted to surgery.
The soldiers also shot a journalist, identified as Abdul-Rahman Younis, while documenting the protests.
The Israeli attacks took place when dozens of students of Birzeit University marched towards the northern entrance of Ramallah, protesting the death of a detainee, identified as Bassam as-Sayeh, 47, from Nablus, who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011, and Leukemia in 2013, but did not receive the needed specialized medical treatment in Israeli prisons.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, a young man was seriously injured in his chest and abdomen when Israeli soldiers opened fire at angry youths in al-Bireh city.
The young man was rushed in serious condition to the operating room in Palestine Hospital in Ramallah. There is still no information if he survived the injuries.
Violent clashes broke out on Monday afternoon between dozens of young protesters and Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance to al-Bireh city after the former staged a protest to denounce the death of prisoner Bassam as-Sa’yeh in Israeli jails.
Israeli Soldiers Seriously Injure A Young Man Near Ramallah
Israeli soldiers shot and seriously injured, on Monday afternoon, a young man, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, after the army attacked youngsters protesting the death of a Palestinian detainee in Israeli prison.
The Palestinian was seriously injured by Israeli army fire, north of al-Biereh city, and was rushed to Palestine Medical Complex, in Ramallah, suffering a life-threatening injury, before he was admitted to surgery.
The soldiers also shot a journalist, identified as Abdul-Rahman Younis, while documenting the protests.
The Israeli attacks took place when dozens of students of Birzeit University marched towards the northern entrance of Ramallah, protesting the death of a detainee, identified as Bassam as-Sayeh, 47, from Nablus, who was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011, and Leukemia in 2013, but did not receive the needed specialized medical treatment in Israeli prisons.
9 sept 2019
Violent clashes flared up on Monday between dozens of Palestinian citizens and Israeli occupation forces near al-Bireh City over the death of the Palestinian prisoner Bassam al-Sayeh in Israeli jails. video Bassam 2014
Local sources said that scores of Palestinian youths blocked roads near al-Bireh City, burned car tires, and hurled stones at the Israeli forces who showered them with rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters.
Meanwhile in Ramallah, hundreds of students from Birzeit University took part in a demonstration at al-Manara Square protesting the deliberate medical neglect that killed al-Sayeh in Israeli lock-ups.
The demonstrators condemned the "security coordination" between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army and called for activating all forms of resistance in the West Bank to respond to the Israeli crimes. video video
Bassam al-Sayeh, 47, died on Sunday evening at the Israeli Assaf Harofeh hospital. Al-Sayeh was suffering from blood and bone cancer and had been subjected to deliberate medical neglect by the Israel Prison Service.
About 700 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails suffer from various diseases and need urgent medical follow-up.
Local sources said that scores of Palestinian youths blocked roads near al-Bireh City, burned car tires, and hurled stones at the Israeli forces who showered them with rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters.
Meanwhile in Ramallah, hundreds of students from Birzeit University took part in a demonstration at al-Manara Square protesting the deliberate medical neglect that killed al-Sayeh in Israeli lock-ups.
The demonstrators condemned the "security coordination" between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli army and called for activating all forms of resistance in the West Bank to respond to the Israeli crimes. video video
Bassam al-Sayeh, 47, died on Sunday evening at the Israeli Assaf Harofeh hospital. Al-Sayeh was suffering from blood and bone cancer and had been subjected to deliberate medical neglect by the Israel Prison Service.
About 700 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails suffer from various diseases and need urgent medical follow-up.
8 sept 2019
In Nablus on Sunday, hundreds of Palestinians gathered for a peaceful march demanding justice for the prisoner Bassam al-Sayyeh, from Nablus, who died early Sunday in Israeli jail, due to medical negligence.
Participants in the march in the city of Nablus, which took place on Sunday evening, held the Israeli Prison Authority fully responsible for the martyrdom of Bassam al-Sayyeh.
During the march in Martyrs’ Square, the participants called for the need to stand by the prisoners and support their cause, especially sick prisoners who do not receive any care.
And they called on the regional coordination committee, to participate in the vigil against the practices of the occupation, tomorrow at noon in Martyrs’ square, also in response to what they called the unnecessary, negligent of Bassam al-Sayeh.
Al-Sayeh’s death came six weeks after the death of another prisoner, a Palestinian prisoner, Nasser Taqatqa, 31, from Beit Fajar near Bethlehem, who was found dead of acute pneumonia in an isolation cell in Nitzan Ramle detention center.
He had been held under Israeli interrogation since 19 June in Jalameh detention center, after he was arrested by Israeli occupation forces from his home. After ongoing harsh interrogation, he was sent to solitary confinement in Nitzan prison.
According to Samidoun prisoner rights organization, al-Sayeh is the 221st Palestinian prisoner to lose his life in Israeli prisons, and medical neglect and abuse has been a consistent factor in the illness and death of Palestinian prisoners, along with torture and mistreatment under occupation.
In February 2019, another isolated prisoner, Fares Baroud, died after medical mistreatment and 18 years of denial of family visits by the Israeli occupation.
According to Addameer, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has adopted a policy of deliberate medical neglect against prisoners and detainees.
Human rights organizations estimate that since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 until 2008, 17 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons and detention centers as a result of medical negligence.
During 2014, the number of ill persons among the prisoners and detainees increased to over 1000, an increase compared with 800 sick cases in 2013. The testimonies of prisoners and detainees indicate the presence of 200 prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses, 25 suffering from cancer, and 85 from various disabilities (physical, mental, psychological, and sensory), while another 25 prisoners and detainees permanently reside in the clinic of Ramleh prison.
The increase in the number of sick cases may be attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, there is a policy of medical neglect and the continuation of the forces of the prison service in denying their responsibility in providing appropriate health care, and periodic medical checkups for prisoners and detainees. Secondly, the environment of the prison plays a role.
The majority of the prisons are old and are not in line with international standards in terms of size and architecture; insects and rodents are all over the place and the climate is harsh. Prisons in the south have a desert atmosphere, while those in the north are highly humid.
Thirdly, administrations of prisons neglect their responsibility towards the needs of personal and public hygiene, and taking the measures to ensure the health of the prisoners and detainees. Fourthly, health is impacted by overcrowding due to the increase in the number of prisoners and detainees in 2014.
Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that prisoners and detainees should enjoy conditions of food and hygiene sufficient to maintaining good health, which should be “at least equal to those obtaining in prisons in the occupied country.” It also states that shall receive the medical attention required by their state of health, and that they shall have the right to receive at least one relief parcel monthly.
Article 85 also emphasizes that the detaining power is bound to take all necessary and possible measures to ensure that protected persons shall, from the outset of their internment, be accommodated in buildings or quarters which afford every possible safeguard from humidity, and with sufficient warmth and lighting, in addition to having sufficient sleeping space and ventilation.
Participants in the march in the city of Nablus, which took place on Sunday evening, held the Israeli Prison Authority fully responsible for the martyrdom of Bassam al-Sayyeh.
During the march in Martyrs’ Square, the participants called for the need to stand by the prisoners and support their cause, especially sick prisoners who do not receive any care.
And they called on the regional coordination committee, to participate in the vigil against the practices of the occupation, tomorrow at noon in Martyrs’ square, also in response to what they called the unnecessary, negligent of Bassam al-Sayeh.
Al-Sayeh’s death came six weeks after the death of another prisoner, a Palestinian prisoner, Nasser Taqatqa, 31, from Beit Fajar near Bethlehem, who was found dead of acute pneumonia in an isolation cell in Nitzan Ramle detention center.
He had been held under Israeli interrogation since 19 June in Jalameh detention center, after he was arrested by Israeli occupation forces from his home. After ongoing harsh interrogation, he was sent to solitary confinement in Nitzan prison.
According to Samidoun prisoner rights organization, al-Sayeh is the 221st Palestinian prisoner to lose his life in Israeli prisons, and medical neglect and abuse has been a consistent factor in the illness and death of Palestinian prisoners, along with torture and mistreatment under occupation.
In February 2019, another isolated prisoner, Fares Baroud, died after medical mistreatment and 18 years of denial of family visits by the Israeli occupation.
According to Addameer, the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) has adopted a policy of deliberate medical neglect against prisoners and detainees.
Human rights organizations estimate that since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 until 2008, 17 Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli prisons and detention centers as a result of medical negligence.
During 2014, the number of ill persons among the prisoners and detainees increased to over 1000, an increase compared with 800 sick cases in 2013. The testimonies of prisoners and detainees indicate the presence of 200 prisoners suffering from chronic illnesses, 25 suffering from cancer, and 85 from various disabilities (physical, mental, psychological, and sensory), while another 25 prisoners and detainees permanently reside in the clinic of Ramleh prison.
The increase in the number of sick cases may be attributed to a number of factors. Firstly, there is a policy of medical neglect and the continuation of the forces of the prison service in denying their responsibility in providing appropriate health care, and periodic medical checkups for prisoners and detainees. Secondly, the environment of the prison plays a role.
The majority of the prisons are old and are not in line with international standards in terms of size and architecture; insects and rodents are all over the place and the climate is harsh. Prisons in the south have a desert atmosphere, while those in the north are highly humid.
Thirdly, administrations of prisons neglect their responsibility towards the needs of personal and public hygiene, and taking the measures to ensure the health of the prisoners and detainees. Fourthly, health is impacted by overcrowding due to the increase in the number of prisoners and detainees in 2014.
Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states that prisoners and detainees should enjoy conditions of food and hygiene sufficient to maintaining good health, which should be “at least equal to those obtaining in prisons in the occupied country.” It also states that shall receive the medical attention required by their state of health, and that they shall have the right to receive at least one relief parcel monthly.
Article 85 also emphasizes that the detaining power is bound to take all necessary and possible measures to ensure that protected persons shall, from the outset of their internment, be accommodated in buildings or quarters which afford every possible safeguard from humidity, and with sufficient warmth and lighting, in addition to having sufficient sleeping space and ventilation.
Bassam al-Sayyeh 47
Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Bassam al-Sayyeh, from the northern West Bank district of Nablus, died today in Israeli jail, due to medical negligence, said the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission.
Al-Sayyeh, 47, was detained in 2015, he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011 and blood cancer in 2013.
The commission held the Israeli government fully responsible for the racist crimes committed against Palestinians, including the physical and psychological torture and medical negligence of prisoners, among other violations, calling for an investigation into these crimes.
The death of al-Sayyeh brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails since 1967 to 221 prisoners.
At least 700 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails suffer from serious health conditions, 160 of whom are in need of urgent medical follow-up.
Palestinians have accused the Israeli authorities of failing to provide proper medical treatment, or of delaying treatment to ill prisoners, causing a deterioration in their health.
According to Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights organization, “in regard to adequate medical attention and treatment, Article 91 [of the Fourth Geneva Convention] emphasizes that “every place of internment shall have an adequate infirmary…” and that “Internees may not be prevented from presenting themselves to the medical authority for examination.”
In addition to this article, Article 92 asserts that “Medical inspections of internees shall be made at least once a month…”. It is evident that the withholding of treatment, or access to a medical professional, is a violation of these specific provisions, and therefore a violation of international humanitarian law.”
Cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Bassam al-Sayyeh, from the northern West Bank district of Nablus, died today in Israeli jail, due to medical negligence, said the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-Detainees Commission.
Al-Sayyeh, 47, was detained in 2015, he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2011 and blood cancer in 2013.
The commission held the Israeli government fully responsible for the racist crimes committed against Palestinians, including the physical and psychological torture and medical negligence of prisoners, among other violations, calling for an investigation into these crimes.
The death of al-Sayyeh brings the number of Palestinian prisoners who died in Israeli jails since 1967 to 221 prisoners.
At least 700 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails suffer from serious health conditions, 160 of whom are in need of urgent medical follow-up.
Palestinians have accused the Israeli authorities of failing to provide proper medical treatment, or of delaying treatment to ill prisoners, causing a deterioration in their health.
According to Addameer Prisoners Support and Human Rights organization, “in regard to adequate medical attention and treatment, Article 91 [of the Fourth Geneva Convention] emphasizes that “every place of internment shall have an adequate infirmary…” and that “Internees may not be prevented from presenting themselves to the medical authority for examination.”
In addition to this article, Article 92 asserts that “Medical inspections of internees shall be made at least once a month…”. It is evident that the withholding of treatment, or access to a medical professional, is a violation of these specific provisions, and therefore a violation of international humanitarian law.”
