Palestinian Mohammed al-Rimawi, 24, died early on Tuesday morning after he was arrested in the occupied West Bank during a raid by Israeli soldiers, with his family accusing the soldiers of beating him.
Rimawi’s brother told the AFP news agency that the army had raided the house in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
#Breaking Mohammed al-Rimawi, from Ramallah, died of torture
after Israeli occupation forces arrested him from his town this morning. pic.twitter.com/5xdf96OAmX— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) September 18, 2018
He told AFP:
“They entered Mohammed’s room while he was sleeping and they beat him violently and we heard screaming.”
He added:
“After a while, he went silent and a soldier carried him out on his back.”
#Breaking|| The death of the Palestinian young man Mohammed al-Rimawi from Beit Rima, northwest of Ramallah, after he was brutally assaulted during his arrest by the Israeli occupation forces at dawn today. pic.twitter.com/lGVj60MzMP
— Palestine Observer (@PalObserver) September 18, 2018
A short time after the arrest, the Israeli army informed the Palestinian security coordination office of his death, who relayed the news to the Rimawi family.
The Israeli military confirmed Rimawi’s death in custody but said he had not resisted arrest.
#Breaking The death of Mohammed al-Rimawi after being arrested and severely beaten by Israeli occupation special forces in the town of Beit Rima at dawn today.
استشهاد الشاب محمد الريماوي بعد ضربه بشكل مبرح واعتقاله من قوات خاصة تابعة للاحتلال في بلدة بيت ريما فجر اليوم. pic.twitter.com/1fMIq71IFK— Muntaser Alrefai (@muntaser_buz) September 18, 2018
The Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer said in a statement that it held Israel responsible for the death in custody and called on the UN to investigate.
The group said:
“This case represents a continuation of the occupation’s policy of utilizing excessive force in the arrest of Palestinians. Additionally, this excessive force, in the case of killing, amounts to the unlawful killing of a civilian population … Mohammad’s death is a direct result of such excessive use of force against civilians, in contravention to international human rights and humanitarian law.”
The mother of the martyr Mohammed Al-Rimawi, who was beaten to death in his bedroom by the Israeli occupation forces in the village of Beit Rima
والدة الشهيد محمد الريماوي الذي ضرب حتى الموت في غرفة نومه من قبل قوات الاحتلال الاسرائيلي في قرية بيت ريما pic.twitter.com/2iUnhNm38g— Muntaser Alrefai (@muntaser_buz) September 18, 2018
In a statement, the Rimawi family called for international witnesses to attend the post-mortem if the Israeli authorities were to carry one out.
(AJE, PC, Social Media)
