Human rights groups urge Hamas to prevent suicide in Gaza prisons

The appeal came after the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior announced on May 29 that Muaz Ahmad Abu Amra, 19, committed suicide by hanging himself inside his prison cell.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
A drug addict stands behind bars at a Hamas-run prison in Gaza City March 1, 2017 (photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)
A drug addict stands behind bars at a Hamas-run prison in Gaza City March 1, 2017
(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)
Palestinian human rights groups have called on Hamas to prevent the recurrence of suicide cases in its detention centers in the Gaza Strip.
The appeal came after the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior announced on May 29 that Muaz Ahmad Abu Amra, 19, committed suicide by hanging himself inside his prison cell.
Abu Amra is said to be the third detainee to commit suicide in a Hamas detention center in the past three years.
In September 2017, Mustafa Fayek Salman, 17, reportedly committed suicide while being held in a detention facility in Bet Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip.
In June 2018, another detainee, 30-year-old Walid Abdel Aziz al-Duhaini, was also reported to have committed suicide while being held in a detention center in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Last February, Hamas announced that Essam Ahmad al-Sa’afin, 39, died after a “sudden deterioration of his health.” His family said he suffered from diabetes and high blood pressure and accused Hamas of depriving him of his medicines.
In response to the most recent suicide, the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) said that Abu Amra was being held in a Hamas police station in Deir al-Balah. It was not clear why Abu Amra had been arrested.
An investigation conducted by ICHR found that on the morning of May 29, one of the inmates sharing a cell with Abu Amra noticed that he had been late in the bathroom. The inmate called the prison guards, who broke open the bathroom door and found Abu Amra hanging from the window.
The prison administration told ICHR that Abu Amra was in good health and mental condition and was not receiving any kind of medical or psychological treatments prior to his death. Three weeks ago, Abu Amra requested permission to leave the detention center to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, but his request was turned down, the prison administration said.
An autopsy found that the cause of death was a lack of blood supply to the brain and suffocation, with no signs of violence on the body.
ICHR said it was “seriously considering this incident, which was repeated in detention centers and correction and rehabilitation facilities” in the Gaza Strip.
“The lack of accountability of officials in previous incidents in which people committed suicide in detention centers or attempted suicide, was one of the main reasons for its recurrence,” the human rights group said. “Any death inside detention centers requires the highest level of follow-up and investigation by the official authorities.”
ICHR renewed its demands for “a comprehensive review of safety conditions in all detention centers in the Gaza Strip” and urged Hamas to conduct psychological evaluations of detainees to prevent future cases of suicide.
In addition, ICHR called on Hamas to immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Abu Amra and strengthen the means of protecting inmates, especially by providing them with the necessary psychological support.
Another Palestinian human rights group, Addameer, said it was looking at the case of Abu Amra “with great concern.”
The group said that “every death occurring inside a detention center requires the opening of a criminal investigation” and called on Hamas to launch an investigation into the case and publish the results to the public.


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