Lawyer: Israel to Release Prisoner after Long-term Hunger Strike

Israel will release a prisoner on Thursday who spent 100 days on hunger strike last year, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Akram Rekhawi will be released Thursday, four months before completing a 9-year sentence, his daughter Yasmin said, citing an attorney representing the detainee.

Rekhawi, from the southern Gaza Strip, stopped his hunger strike in July after prison authorities agreed to release him six months early, and had resumed his hunger strike on Jan. 24 over his continued detention.

A father of eight, Rekhawi suffers from diabetes, asthma and osteoporosis and has been held in Ramle prison clinic throughout his detention since 2004.

His daughter Yasmin said her father’s health had suffered from the hunger strike, and he recently suffered a blood clot as well as kidney and heart problems.

Abdullah Qandil, a spokesman for Palestinian prisoners association Waed, said an Israeli court decided to release Rekhawi in a hearing on Wednesday.

(Ma’an – www.maannews.net)

(The Palestine Chronicle is a registered 501(c)3 organization, thus, all donations are tax deductible.)
Our Vision For Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders & Intellectuals Speak Out