Egyptian prisoners in Israeli prisons began a hunger strike on Wednesday
in protest over poor conditions, discrimination, lack of adequate meals, and
being forced to work in Israeli factories and farms for low wages.
(AFP Photo)
Egyptians in Israeli prisons begin a hunger strike
The reporting journalist: Rose
Egyptian prisoners in Israeli prisons began a hunger
strike on Wednesday in protest over poor conditions, discrimination, lack of
adequate meals, and being forced to work in Israeli factories and farms for low
wages. Other accusations included falsified intelligence reports regarding
inmates presented to Israeli judges, failure to transport inmates to hospitals
in the event of sickness, and inmates being prevented from taking part in
Friday prayer services and being forced into solitary confinement without justification.
Mustafa Al-Atrash, the coordinator responsible for the state of Egyptian
prisoners in Israel, whose numbers total 80, said that most inmates are from
the Sinai peninsula and entered Israel seeking better work opportunities.
He added that inmates began the strike in order to
pressure the Israeli government to improve their living conditions and convince
Egyptian authorities to intervene to secure their release. Despite this, he
said, no actions had so far been taken by the Egyptian government, adding that
repeated requests had been made to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry offices at the
country’s embassy in Tel Aviv to help the inmates obtain lawyers. Until now,
inmates have only received legal representation from Israeli appointed lawyers.
He added that further steps would be taken on the part
of inmates over the next several days, saying that inmate families also planned
on protesting outside Egyptian government offices.
Israel has so far released 5 Egyptian inmates, all
from the Sinai Peninsula, who confirmed the fact that they were exposed to poor
conditions and harsh treatment by Israeli prison officials.
Egyptian inmates called on President Mohamed Morsi and
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry to intervene to secure the release of those being
held, demanding further that they be granted their rights as inmates and be
treated equally with the rest of Israel’s prison population.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق