Palestinian prisoner Sami Abu Diak, who was suffering from cancer, has died in prison this morning, according to prisoners advocacy groups.
Israel has rejected several appeals to release him on humanitarian grounds so that he can get proper treatment for cancer outside prison.
Palestinian detainee, Sami Abu Diak, was suffering from cancer and other health problems, including kidney and lung failures, which resulted from deliberate medical neglect and maltreatment. pic.twitter.com/FdoPMwme3X
— Palestine Info Center (@palinfoen) November 26, 2019
The tension was high throughout Israeli prisons this morning following the announcement of Abu Diak’s death, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Prisoners Affairs Commission.
Abu Diak, 37, from Silat al-Dahr village in the northern West Bank district of Jenin, died in the Israeli hospital Asaf Harofeh as a result of what the Commission said was “the policy of deliberate and systematic clinical killings by the (Israel) Prison Services.”
After being denied specialized medical care, Palestinian detainee, Sami Abu Diak, dies in israeli Prison. pic.twitter.com/AmrM18TyGb
— Mohammed Kareem ?? (@vic2pal) November 26, 2019
With the death of Abu Diak, the number of Palestinian prisoners who died as a result of medical negligence has reached 222 since 1967, more than a third of them while in custody.
Abu Diak was detained on July 17, 2002, and was sentenced to triple life terms plus 30 years, of which he spent 17 years behind bars before his death. He was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in September 2015 and his condition began to deteriorate as a result of medical mistakes by the Israeli Soroka hospital in the south of Israel where he underwent surgery to remove 83 cm of his large intestine.
He was then transferred to Ramlah prison clinic where his health deteriorated due to the dismal and unhygienic conditions of the prison. He was then transferred to Assaf Harofeh, and then returned to Ramlah prison.
In a letter he wrote a few days ago, the Palestinian detainee Sami Abu Diak said he wanted to"die in my mother's lap."
Today, and due to the deliberate medical neglect by "Israel," Abu Diak DIED, alone and handcuffed on a cold bed.
Although Abu Diak(36)was suffering from cancer pic.twitter.com/o7OJinuVNT— Palestine Live (@pallive_en) November 26, 2019
Abu Diak was unable to walk and would move only in a wheelchair. He underwent four operations to remove tumors from the intestine, and during one of the operations, he went into a coma for one month.
Many petitions were submitted for the early release of Abu Diak in light of the serious and critical deterioration of his health, but the occupation authorities rejected all appeals, said the Commission.
This was Abu Diak’s last message from the prison:
“To every person with a conscience, I live my last hours and days. I want to be in my last days and hours beside my mother and my loved ones, and I want to die in her arms. I do not want to die while I my hands and feet are cuffed and in front of a jailer who loves death and nurtures and delights by our pains and sufferings.”
Martyrdom of the prisoner. Cancer patient Sami Abu Diak from Jenin in the prisons of the occupation. pic.twitter.com/Jnk0YWn2nk
— Nour Arafa (@NourArafa20) November 26, 2019
The Prisoners’ Commission held the occupation authorities fully responsible for the death of Abu Diak due to what it said was its racist crimes against Palestinians, such as physical and psychological torture, medical negligence of prisoners and other violations and procedures of torture against them, which come at the expense of the life of the Palestinian prisoner.
It called for investigations into cases of violations against prisoners and to force Israel to abide by international law regarding prisoners.
(Wafa, PC, Social Media)
