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Ahmed Manasra: Story of Palestinian Child Prisoner in Israeli Jails

Global Rights Watch calls on the Israeli Occupation Authorities to immediately release the Palestinian young man Ahmed Manasra who was arrested as a child, in view of his worsening mental health condition. Ahmed Manasra started suffering many health problems since his arrest seven years ago.

On October 12, 2015, Israeli authorities arrested Ahmad Manasra, for being allegedly involved in a stabbing attack in the Pisgat Ze’ev illegal settlement in occupied East Jerusalem.

 Despite being found by the courts not to have participated in the stabbings, he was convicted of attempted murder in 2016 in proceedings marred by allegations of torture, and despite the fact that he was below the minimum age of criminal responsibility at the time.

Ahmad Manasra has been held in prolonged solitary confinement since the beginning of November 2021.

Ahmad Manasra’s mental health worsened during his incarceration. He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is suffering from psychotic delusions, and is severely depressed with suicidal thoughts.

Head of Global Rights Watch Dr. Hashem Takruri said that Ahmad Manasra has been subjected to a catalogue of injustices by the Israeli authorities, including deleterious effects of incarceration on his development and prolonged solitary confinement.

Manasra 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,” he added.

Israel continues to perpetrate widespread as well as systematic human rights violations against Palestinians, including children, against a backdrop of decades of state-sponsored discrimination, segregation and persecution.

There is evidence that the treatment of Ahmad Manasra fits a wider pattern of discrimination against Palestinian children in the Israeli criminal justice system.

Some 170 Palestinians currently imprisoned were arrested when they were children. In many of these cases, children were denied fair trials in line with international standards and protection under the child justice system. In other cases, children were subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.

On Wednesday, June, 22, 2022, Israeli authorities decided to classify the case against Ahmed Manasara under “terrorism law,” refusing calls for parole that would release him from jail.

Pending his release from detention, we call to provide Ahmed Manasra access to adequate medical care and to end his solitary confinement. Allegations of torture and other human rights violations that Ahmad has suffered must be effectively and transparently investigated.

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