Detainee Ahmed Manasra Freed After 10 Years in Israeli Prisons
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The Palestinian detainee was arrested when he was only 13-years-old, and face brutal treatment by the Israeli prison authorities throughout the 10 years he spent in Israeli imprisonment.
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Palestinian prisoner Ahmad Manasra when he was first detained, April 10, 2015 (Social Media)
Israeli authorities released 23-year-old Ahmad Manasra from Nafha Prison in the Negev Desert on Thursday, ending 10 years of imprisonment.
Israeli authorities deliberately released Ahmad Manasra away from the main gate of Nafha Prison, where his family had been waiting to welcome him, and after his release, he encountered a resident of Be’er Sheva and used their phone to call his family and let them know he had been free, as per Al Mayadeen's correspondent.
Ahmad Manasra’s lawyer told Al Mayadeen that his client was released in a highly fragile mental state, having endured torture and solitary confinement from 2021 up until the start of the current war, and that he was subjected to the same harsh treatment and punitive measures imposed on other prisoners during the conflict.
Israeli Intelligence warned Manasra's family from celebrating his return, the lawyer added.
Ahmad Manasra was arrested in 2015 at the age of 13 after he and his cousin were accused of carrying out a resistance operation in occupied Jerusalem, during which his cousin Hassan Manasra was shot and killed by Israeli forces and Ahmad was seriously wounded.
On the day of his arrest, Ahmad Manasra was severely beaten, resulting in a fractured skull and internal bleeding in his head, and he was subjected to harsh physical and psychological interrogations that included sleep deprivation, long hours of continuous questioning, isolation from other prisoners, and denial of visits and necessary medical treatment.
After several sessions, the Israeli occupation court issued a verdict of 12 years in prison against Ahmad and compensation of 180,000 shekels. The sentence was reduced to nine and a half years in 2017.
Before his transfer to prison, the Israeli occupation authorities held Ahmad for two years in a special institution for juveniles under difficult and harsh conditions, and later transferred him to "Megiddo" Prison when he was 14 years old.
In September of 2023, the Israeli court in "Ramla" prison delayed a trial to rule on ending Manasra's solitary confinement, which started in October 2021, despite his deteriorating health and psychological condition.
Mansara's solitary confinement sentence was extended several times in complete disregard of his mental and physical health, such as in August of 2022.
Over the past several years, a global campaign was launched calling for Ahmad Manasra’s release due to his deteriorating mental health caused by the trauma he experienced as a child in detention, accompanied by a series of hearings in Israeli courts that consistently rejected appeals for his release and refused to ease the restrictions imposed on him.
In August of 2022, Amnesty International called for the immediate release of Mansara after he developed serious mental health issues since his arrest at just 13 years old, due to the brutal treatment perpetrated by Israeli prison authorities.
