Israel Has Finally Released This 23-Year-Old Palestinian Man Who It Jailed When He Was Just 13
Manasra was arrested at age 13 for being with his then-15-year-old cousin, who stabbed two Israeli men at the Pisgat Ze’ev illegal Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem in 2015.
Ahmad Manasra, a 23-year-old Palestinian man who was arrested by Israel as a child has finally been released after he spent almost 10 years in an Israeli prison.
Manasra was arrested at age 13 for being with his then-15-year-old cousin, Hassan Manasra, who stabbed two Israeli men at the Pisgat Ze’ev illegal Israeli settlement in occupied East Jerusalem in 2015.
Israeli police shot and killed Hassan at the scene, while Ahmad was severely beaten by a group of Israelis and run over by an Israeli driver, leading to skull fractures and internal bleeding, according to Al Jazeera.
A viral video after the incident showed Ahmad lying in the street, bleeding from his head, while Israelis could be heard yelling at him.
The two Israelis, a 20-year-old male security guard and a 13-year-old boy, survived their injuries, according to Al Jazeera.
In another viral video, Ahmad was seen being interrogated by an Israeli intelligence officer without a lawyer or a parent present, which is a violation of international standards, according to rights group Amnesty International.
The officer threatened and yelled at Ahmad until he broke down, yelling, “I can’t remember” and asking for a doctor.
Although the court found Manasra did not participate in the stabbing and was just standing next to his cousin, he was still convicted with attempted murder.
He was sentenced to 9.5 years in prison, even though he was under the minimum age to bear responsibility for a crime at the time.
Manasra was then held in a closed treatment facility in northern Israel, with the court rejecting the family’s request for him to be placed under house arrest.
Israel later changed its law to allow civilian courts to convict children as young as 12 for what it defines as “terrorist” offenses, which it later changed Ahmad’s conviction to.
During his 9.5 years in prison, Ahmad was mostly kept in solitary confinement. spending up to 23 hours a day in a small cell.
He developed paranoia and delusions, struggled with chronic insomnia and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to his lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa.
His case, which was marked by violations of international law regarding torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, led rights groups and the European Union and the United Nations to consistently call for his release.
However, Israel repeatedly denied Ahmad parole, saying he had to serve his full sentence, regardless of his age or mental condition, as he had been convicted of “terrorism” and must serve On Thursday, April 10, Israeli prison authorities finally released Ahmad after he served his full sentence.
Ahmad’s lawyer said he was released “away from Nafha Prison to prevent his family from receiving him, leaving him alone in an empty area,” according to Al Jazeera.
A passerby reportedly found him in the Beersheba area in Israel’s southern Negev desert and contacted his family, who later reunited with him.
Manasra is expected to undergo a full medical evaluation to determine the extent of his health condition.
Manasra is one of at least 350 Palestinian children still being held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, with at least 100 children held without trial or charge under administrative detention.
These children face various human rights abuses, including lack of due process, torture, and poor living conditions, according to a report released by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), Commission of Detainees’ Affairs & Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association on April 5.
Amnesty International welcomed the release but said, “Nothing can undo the years of injustice, abuse, trauma, and ill-treatment he endured behind bars.”
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