The Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) said in a statement yesterday that the Palestinian political prisoner Khaled Ghithan, 59, who has tested positive for COVID-19, faces a critical health condition due to coronavirus complications accompanied by inhumane imprisonment conditions.

PPS added that Ghithan, who is incarcerated in the desert prison of Rimon, was transferred to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba a couple of days ago, but was sent back to prison despite suffering a low level of blood oxygen.

Moreover, it stated that Ghithan, together with other prisoners in Rimon who have tested positive for coronavirus, still show moderate to critical symptoms, and are in a real need of hospitalization due to the lack of the necessary healthcare requirements in the prison.

PPS held Israel fully responsible for the life of Ghithan and the lives of the other infected Palestinian prisoners at this critical time of the pandemic, calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to play an active role in following up the cases of the infected prisoners and allow them to contact their families.

It is worth noting that Ghithan was first arrested by Israeli forces in 1996, and was released as part of a prisoner swap deal in 2011. He was re-arrested in 2014 and was sentenced to life in jail for his activism in the resistance to the Israeli occupation.