Scabies disease threatens the lives of young detainees in Ofer

Ramallah - Ma'an - The Commission of Prisoners' Affairs and Freed Prisoners warned of the danger of the spread of skin diseases in general, and in particular the disease "Scabies" among detainees, which has become a real threat to their lives, which prompted the occupation prison administration to close a number of prisons to visits by lawyers due to this disease. The Authority expressed its concern in a statement issued today, Thursday, about the spread of this disease to the rooms of the young detainees (minors) in Ofer Prison, which has spread among them greatly and quickly, and its symptoms have begun to appear on their bodies in an annoying manner, such as pimples, boils, and redness of the skin that prevents them from sleeping due to itching and pain. She called on the World Health Organization to assume its responsibilities towards all detainees, especially minors, as the lack of hygiene, deprivation of detergents and disinfectants, and the lack of washing in a very short time, as well as the lack of clothing and blankets, make their bodies a fertile environment for the spread of such diseases. The Commission pointed out that Ofer prison contains the majority of minor prisoners, as their number is 150 detainees out of 260 others, and they are not treated with any privacy, due to their young age and thin bodies, but on the contrary, this is exploited to take revenge on them and increase their suffering. She stressed that the living and health conditions in Ofer Prison are still complex, that the punishments are continuing and the attacks are escalating, as the policies of beating, starvation and deprivation are wreaking havoc on their bodies. The Commission continued that its legal team was able, during the past two days, to visit a number of detainees in Ofer Prison, namely: Salem Abu Safiya (33 years old), Abdullah Jaradat (22 years old) from the town of Sa'ir in the Hebron Governorate, Osama Ataya (18 years old) from the town of Kafr Na'ma in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, Adi Younis (24 year s old) from Halhul in the Hebron Governorate, Adel Dar Atta (24 years old) from the town of Deir Abu Mash'al in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, Tamer Al-Shawamreh (35 years old) from Qadura Camp in Ramallah and Al-Bireh, and Yousef Ayada (17 years old) from Al-Shuyukh in the Hebron Governorate. All of the detainees who were visited are being held under the administrative detention policy, with the exception of Al-Shawamreh, who was indicted after spending two years in administrative detention. She pointed out that the majority of these prisoners have difficult health conditions and are in need of treatment and medication, but the prison administration refuses to provide them with that, leaving them prey to disease. In addition, many rooms in the prison have been designated for quarantine due to scaphoid fever. Source: Maan News Agency