Lawyer: Al-Sarsak ends hunger strike in release deal
Published today (updated) 18/06/2012 19:01
Girls hold posters of soccer player Mahmoud al-Sarsak near Ramallah
on June 13. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)
on June 13. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)
BETHLEHEM
(Ma’an) -- Mahmoud al-Sarsak, on hunger strike in an Israeli jail for 92
days, agreed to start eating on Monday in a deal that will see him
released on July 10, his lawyer said.
Mohammad Jaberein said al-Sarsak signed the agreement during his visit to the prisoner on Monday. Israeli prison authorities asked al-Sarsak to eat something in their presence to ratify the deal, after which he took a piece of chocolate from the lawyer, Jaberein said.
An Israeli prisons spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.
Under the deal al-Sarsak will remain in Ramle prison clinic until his release on July 10, the lawyer added. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel say the clinic does not have the facilities to treat long-term hunger strikers or manage the health risks when they return to eating.
The 25-year-old soccer player from the Gaza Strip has been imprisoned by Israel without charge or trial since July 2009.
He is the only person held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, which allows for Palestinians from Gaza to be detained for an unlimited amount of time without charge or trial.
Al-Sarsak had joined the local soccer team in his Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip at 14, becoming the youngest footballer to play in the Palestine Liga A at the time. The midfielder attracted the attention of a German coach while playing for the Palestine national team in Norway.
The first step was to play for a team in the West Bank. But Israeli security arrested him on July 22, 2009, at the Erez crossing from the blockaded Gaza Strip, the only route to Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.
Mohammad Jaberein said al-Sarsak signed the agreement during his visit to the prisoner on Monday. Israeli prison authorities asked al-Sarsak to eat something in their presence to ratify the deal, after which he took a piece of chocolate from the lawyer, Jaberein said.
An Israeli prisons spokeswoman could not be reached for comment.
Under the deal al-Sarsak will remain in Ramle prison clinic until his release on July 10, the lawyer added. Physicians for Human Rights - Israel say the clinic does not have the facilities to treat long-term hunger strikers or manage the health risks when they return to eating.
The 25-year-old soccer player from the Gaza Strip has been imprisoned by Israel without charge or trial since July 2009.
He is the only person held under Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law, which allows for Palestinians from Gaza to be detained for an unlimited amount of time without charge or trial.
Al-Sarsak had joined the local soccer team in his Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip at 14, becoming the youngest footballer to play in the Palestine Liga A at the time. The midfielder attracted the attention of a German coach while playing for the Palestine national team in Norway.
The first step was to play for a team in the West Bank. But Israeli security arrested him on July 22, 2009, at the Erez crossing from the blockaded Gaza Strip, the only route to Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.
on Maan news.
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