Hunger-striking prisoner Akram al-Rekhawi, who is diabetic and asthmatic, is refusing an IV drip and consuming only water, a lawyer said Wednesday.

Mona Neddaf, a lawyer for prisoner rights group Addameer, visited al-Rekhawi at Israel's Ramle prison clinic on Tuesday.

Al-Rekhawi has been on hunger strike since April 12 and has refused vitamins and fluids through an IV since Saturday, Neddaf said. He is extremely weak and struggling to drink water, she added.

Al-Rekhawi told the lawyer he wished to be transferred to hospital for proper care.

After more than two months on hunger strike, al-Rekhawi's morale remains high but he feels his case has been forgotten, Addameer said in a statement.
 
Al-Rekhawi is diabetic, asthmatic and suffers from osteoporosis and high blood pressure. He has been held in Ramle prison clinic since his arrest in 2004 and is demanding his release on medical grounds.

He is eligible for parole, having served two-thirds of a 12-year sentence but on June 5 an Israeli court rejected his request for release.

A representative for Physicians for Human Rights - Israel told Ma'an on Monday that al-Rekhawi was at immediate risk of heart failure or an asthma attack that could be fatal given his deteriorated condition.

An Israeli district court on Thursday rejected PHRI's petition to allow independent doctors access to al-Rekhawi and refused to hospitalize him.

Al-Rekhawi was briefly hospitalized on Tuesday, while cuffed to a bed by his hands and legs, and returned to Ramle prison clinic, Palestinian Prisoner Society lawyer Jawad Boulus said.

Addameer and PHRI expressed grave concern for al-Rekhawi and said urgent pressure was needed on his behalf "before it is too late."

(Ma'an)