A Palestinian teenager dies after 6 months in Israeli prison

A Palestinian teenager died in Israeli detention after collapsing in what AP calls for “unclear circumstances” on March 23. Walid Ahmad, 17, had been detained in Megiddo prison for six months without being charged and became the first Palestinian teenager to die in Israeli. His family blames the prison conditions for his death, alleging that he had contracted dysentery, an infection that causes diarrhea, vomiting and dizziness, and can be fatal if he is not treated. The circumstances of his death are not clear, but the Palestinian officials say that witnesses saw him fall into a court of prison and hit their heads, losing consciousness, before dying. The Palestinian authority said that witnesses said that “the prison administration had not responded to requests from urgent care prisoners to save their life”.

His death highlights Israeli prison conditions, human rights groups and former detainees reporting generalized abuses in detention establishments. They claim that insanitary conditions contribute to epidemics of diseases, including scabies and dysentery, and that many prisoners face overcrowding, insufficient medical care and difficult conditions, including blows. Khalid Ahmad, Walid’s father, says that his son suffered from malnutrition and scabies. When he noticed the deterioration of his son during one of the appearances in the court with the teenager’s video in February, he said that Walid said to him: “Don’t worry about me.”

The Israeli penitentiary service has denied systematic abuses and claims to investigate all reports of reprehensible acts, while prison conditions are maintained at the legal minimum level. Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultra-nationalist minister, heads the Israeli National Security Ministry supervising prisons. Firas Al-Jabrini, Walid’s lawyer, says he was denied prison visits to his client, who was detained for allegedly threw stones on Israeli soldiers in September. The Palestinian authority reports that Walid is the 63rd Palestinian prisoner to die since the start of the current conflict. In total, around 300 have died in police custody since 1967. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)