Father of prisoner in Israel threatens hunger strike if visit not arranged

AMMAN — Mahdi Suleiman, father of the youngest Jordanian prisoner in Israel, Mohammad, on Thursday threatened to abstain from food, water and medicines soon if the Foreign Ministry does not arrange a family visit to his son.

The father accused ministry officials of "lack of interest" in the case of Mohammad, who entered his fourth year of detention on March 15, adding that the ministry has not even appointed a lawyer for him.

Israeli authorities on November 26, 2015, after over 50 trial hearings, sentenced Mohammad to 15 years in prison and a fine of 30,000 Israeli shekels (about JD5,480).

The teenager, who was 16 years old when he was arrested while visiting his relatives in the West Bank, faced 27 charges, including attempted murder and injuring 18 Israeli soldiers.

"All I'm asking for is to see my son; this is the simplest right for me," Mahdi told The Jordan Times, adding that he has contacted Foreign Ministry officials several times to request arranging a visit to Mohammad and nothing happened so far.

The father said Lower House First Deputy Speaker Mustafa Amawi arranged an appointment for him with the Amman governor, who asked the interior minister to contact the Foreign Ministry to secure the visit. 

Mahdi is still waiting for "good news".

The Jordan Times contacted Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie to find out whether the ministry is currently planning to arrange visits for families of Jordanian prisoners in Israel, and Rafie said she will check on the issue and provide information once available.

"Mohammad's mother, who is residing in the West Bank, visited him on Monday and told me he is in a difficult condition," Mahdi said, noting that Israeli authorities have recently transferred his son from Magedo to Rimon prison.

The father also noted that he was arrested on February 18 near the Israeli embassy in Amman, while he was participating in a solidarity sit-in with Palestinian Journalist Mohammad Al Qiq, who was on a hunger strike for more than 90 days.

"I spent some eight hours in detention before my release, which was subject to writing a pledge not to participate in similar sit-ins and not to raise my son's photo in such events," the father said.

There are currently 25 Jordanians in Israeli jails, Shireen Nafe, a member of the media team supporting Jordanian prisoners in Israel, Fedaa, said in recent remarks to The Jordan Times.

Nafe said six of these prisoners are facing life sentences, including Abdullah Barghouthi (67 life sentences), Marae Abu Saeedeh (11 life sentences), Munir Marae (5 life sentences) and Hisham Kaabi (4 life sentences), in addition to Mohammad Rimawi and Hani Khamaiseh, each of whom is facing a life sentence.