By Terry Wolfwood

At the Algeria conference on Palestinian Political Prisoners I met a desperate father, Samir Asfour. He told me the story of his son.

Ahmad was a 17 year old student when he was severely injured outside his home during the invasion of Gaza on January 9, 2009. He was hit by a bomb, probably a D.I.M.E., launched by an unmanned drone. His body was penetrated and lacerated by metal fragments. His father said that Ahmad was in hospital in Egypt for 8 months and then a doctor recommended he go to Jerusalem for more treatment. Ahmed has diabetes, is wheelchair bound and needs more internal surgery. He had lost body parts, sections of his intestines and his pancreas.

He was arrested at the Erez border crossing, taken from his terrified father, along with his medicines and insulin. Samir now knows his son gave a forced confession after days of torture and is in prison in Beersheba. In spite of support from human rights and physicians’ groups, Ahmad is still in jail. Samir said,” My son committed no crimes, he is sick and in pain. He cannot dress or care for himself. How is he surviving in prison?”

Please contact Israeli Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), the Right Livelihood award-winner, for more information on how to help release Ahmad.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, 9 Dror St., Jaffa-Tel Aviv 68135, Israel

http://www.phr.org.il
 
Email: mail@phr.org.il.

Ask PHR what you can do. Call on your politicians to support this humanitarian call. Write to other human rights groups, the UN and medical organizations. Ahmad is considered to be in critical condition and he needs help NOW.

– Terry Wolfwood contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: www.bbcf.ca.