Press Release 

Immediate Release

Ref. 0003/2008

Date: 03/06/2008  

        Regression of Health Conditions of a Syrian Detainee in Israeli Occupation Prisons
                       Sitan al-Wali is a victim of inhuman treatment and punitive measures



Al-Marsad, the Arab Center for Human Rights in the Golan, expresses its deep concern for the regression of the health conditions of the detainee Sitan al-Wali; after he was operated on to eradicate a tumor in his kidney.

According to Dr. Wajdi al-Safadi (who is following Sitan’s health condition) al- Wali was operated on 5 Dec. 2008 to eradicate a 12 cm tumor from his right kidney. Dr. al-Safadi had identified the tumor when he visited and examined al-Wali in the Nafha prison, located in the desert on the 30 July 2007. The examination by Dr. al-Safadi, found that there was a mass in the right side of the al-Wali’s abdomen, and therefore Dr. al-Safadi recommended that al-Wali immediately be sent for an ultra sound for his right side.

An ultra sound was preformed on Al-Wali at Jalbou’ prison east of Afulah city. Seven months later, on 3rd Feb. 2008, the test result of the ultra sound showed the existence of a tumor in the right kidney, Al-Wali was taken for a CT scan on 6th March 2008, which confirmed the existence of a tumor in the right kidney, which led to the eradication of the right kidney on 12th May 2008. The result of the medical tests proved that the tumor was malignant and in its advanced stages.

It is worth mentioning that Sitan al-Wali is a resident of occupied Syrian Golan, born in 1965, he has been detainee in Israeli prisons since 1985. Al-Wali’s lawyer, Dr. Majd Abu Saleh, declared that, in light of the critical health condition which his client is enforced to endure inside the prison, he had prepared al-Wali’s medical file in order to present it with a petition to the Israeli occupation authorities to request the immediate release of al-Wali, in an effort to maximize the opportunities to save his life.

Al-Marsad observes that Sitan al-Wali is a victim of a punitive measure and inhuman treatment by Israeli prison authorities, and this is in violation of international human rights standards, which respects the right of every person in life, freedom and personal safety, and states that the right to life is an inherent right for each person, and the law has to protect this right, and no one may be abused and deprived from his life.
The delay of the authority at Nafha prison in doing the medical tests and the ultra sound which the physician requested for the detained al-Wali for seven months, constitutes a serious violation of the Standards Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, 1977, and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, adopted by General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988, and which confirms the importance of transferring the prisoners who need special treatment to special prisons or to civilian hospitals and to get medical tests and to be provided with medical care and treatment whenever needed.

Al-Marsad notes that the Israeli occupation authorities’ pursuance to detain Sitan al-Wali in prison with no consideration for his critical health condition is an inhuman and degrading act, and therefore disapproves and condemns this inhuman act and demands that:

- Israeli occupation authorities immediately release the detained Sitan al-Wali, and seriously investigate the reasons behind the delay of Nafhah prison’s administration to provide medical care during the seven months.
- The Israeli occupying authorities must improve the detention conditions of political detainees in Israeli prisons in accordance with international standards which are set in international treaties and conventions on human rights.
- The international community and humanitarian and human rights organizations exercises effective pressure on Israeli occupation authorities for the immediate release of the detained Sitan al-Wali.  



                                                                             The End