Israel: Death of prisoners

Case ISR 240698

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your intervention in
the following situation in Israel.

Brief description of the situation :
The International Secretariat has been informed, by a reliable source,
of the death under unclear circumstances of Mr Yousef Rizik al Arear,
who was held in Ramle prison in Israel.

According to information received, Mr Yousef Rizik al Arear underwent
heart bypass surgery a month ago in the Tel Hashomer Hospital, without
the previous knowledge of his family. His doctor stated that the
surgery was completed satisfactorily, and that the patient was in
stable condition. The wife of Mr Yousef Rizik al Arear, who was
informed of the surgery on 4 June, more than two weeks after the
surgery took place, has visited him at the hospital after intervention
from the International Red Cross. She spoke with him again on 21 June,
and according to her, her husband seemed in good health. On that same
day, Mr Yousef Rizik al Arear was transferred from Tel Hashomer
Hospital to Ramle Prison where he died around 9:30 p.m., only 10 hours
after his arrival.

According to information received, since August 1993 until now, about
11 prisoners with serious medical histories have died in Israeli
prisons, and at this time some 400 Palestinian prisoners suffering
from a variety of illnesses remain in Israeli prisons, at the mercy of
prison authorities with little concern for their medical well-being.
Prisoners have mentioned a number of serious lapses in medical
oversight : prison authorities do not allow prisoners to visit the
prison clinics; there are significant delays in obtaining medical
treatment, including a long waiting period for surgery (sometimes up
to three years); there exists no regular clinic schedule for visits,
there are delays in transferring to hospital, and the prisoners are
transported in police vans and not ambulances and usually handcuffed;
and prisoners complain of rude treatment from the medical staff in the
clinics. There are at least nine patients, ranging in age from 15 to
70 years, in serious to critical condition currently held by the
Israeli prison system. 


Action requested :
Please write to the Israeli authorities urging them to : 

i.	guarantee an impartial and exhaustive enquiry into Mr Yousef Rizik
al Arear's death, and in case of negligence, identify those
responsible , bring them before a civil competent and impartial
tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions
provided by law;

ii.	ensure that all prisoners receive appropriate medical assistance
in accordance with the Standards Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners;

iii.	ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and
international standards.

Addresses :
Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street,
Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 3 691 7915 or +
972 2 566 48 38 - E-mail : pm@pmo.gov.il Minister of Justice, Ministry
of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel.
Fax : + 972 2 52 85 438 Mr. Yitzhak Mordechai, Minister of Defense,
Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Fax:(+972-3) 697 62 18 Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box
18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of
Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769

Geneva, 24 June 1998

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.

The Human Rights Action Network, a part of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.