Ahmad Manasra, 23, was released after being sentenced to nine and a half years, the lawyer says.
The Palestinian, arrested at age 13 on suspicion of participating in a stab wound, was released after spending more than nine years in prison and developed serious mental health issues, but was repeatedly denied requests for early release.
Ahmad Manasra, now 23, was released on Thursday after completing his nine and a half years in prison, his lawyer, Khaled Zabarka, said.
Manasra, from the occupied East Jerusalem, stabbed two Israelis in 2015 near the illegal settlement of Pisgathzeev in East Jerusalem.
Hassan, who was 15 years old at the time, was shot dead by an Israeli man, and Ahmad was badly beaten by a group of Israeli people, fled to an Israeli driver and broke into a skull and internal bleeding. Ahmad’s graphic video of bleeding from his head while the Israelis untook him, garnering millions of views at the time.
Ahmad was charged with attempted murder despite him not stabbing anyone – something the court admitted.
Authorities first moved Manasra to quarantine in November 2021 following a brawl with another detainee. In an interview the following year, his family and lawyers said he was trapped in a small cell for 23 hours a day, struggling with delusions and delusions to keep him from sleeping. His lawyer said Manasra tried to hurt herself.
His family said he was transferred every few months to the psychiatric wing of another prison where doctors injected him to stabilize him.
In December 2021, outside doctors were allowed to visit Ahmad for the first time since his incarceration. The doctors of Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF, have published a medical report showing that Ahmad is suffering from schizophrenia.
He warned that continued incarceration could lead to permanent damage to his mental health.
“Great relief”
Ahmad’s release comes after many local and international organizations, including the European Union. and The United Nations repeatedly called for his immediate release.
His early release has repeatedly been denied an appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court. The court found him ineligible, regardless of age or mental state, as he was convicted of “terrorism.”
Between Ahmad’s conviction and sentence, Israeli law was amended, allowing civil courts to convict a 12-year-old child for so-called “terrorist crimes.”
Zabarka said Israeli prison authorities “leave Ahmad away from Nafa prison and freed him. [facility] To prevent his family from accepting him and to keep him alone in an empty area.”
Zabarka said passersby spotted Ahmad in the Bercheva region of the southern Negev region and contacted the family he later reunited with.
He confirmed that Ahmad had reunited with his parents.
“We know he was very ill in prison. We are now waiting to learn more about his health,” Zabarka said.
Hevamoreif, regional director of Amnesty International, welcomed his release, saying it was “a great relief for him and his family.”
“We cannot undo the years of injustice, abuse, trauma and abuse he endured behind the bar,” Moleif said in a statement Thursday.
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