The defense staff of Sheikh Raed Salah confirmed that the detention of Sheikh Salah in solitary confinement is one of the forms of torture practiced by the occupation authorities against him, in addition to the policies of suffocation and restrictions with the aim of humiliation, which they practice on the Sheikh while he is isolated in a solitary cell.

The defense staff indicated in a statement reached Safa on Sunday that all the prison periods that Sheikh Salah was subjected to were carried out under harsh conditions in the harsh solitary confinement department for no reason other than to please the Israeli authorities against the Sheikh because of his activity against their aggressive plans.

Sheikh Salah has been staying since August 16, 2020 in an actual prison until today for 17 months.

The defense staff said that the practice of torture is a violation of Israeli law itself and international laws and norms, and it is a crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of the rights of the prisoner sheikh Salah.

The defense staff considered that this aforementioned torture had caused great suffering and severe pain to Sheikh Raed Salah, who is over 63 years old.

In addition, it was stressed that the legal responsibility for the practice of torture rests with whoever participated in it, incited it, agreed to it, or was silent about it, a public official or any other person acting in an official capacity, by the legal rule that provides for collective responsibility in criminal crimes according to international law.

The defense staff called on the Israeli authorities to immediately stop the practice of torture against Sheikh Salah, respect his humanity, remove him from the isolation cells, and transfer him to the general section of a prison near his family’s place of residence.
Moreover, the staff appealed to the international legal institutions to intervene directly with the Israeli authorities to prevent the continuation of this crime and to demand a visit to the sheikh in his prison to see closely the conditions of his imprisonment.

Besides, the international legal bodies, especially human rights institutions, were called to criminalize these practices and punish the occupation authorities for perpetration them.