More than 100 diverse faith-based, civil rights and human rights organisations sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, demanding action to secure the safe release of a 16-year-old Palestinian-American citizen from Florida detained without trial in a notorious Israeli prison.
The letter to Rubio, dated 26 August 2025, said the teenager, Mohammed Ibrahim, is in poor health and his detention in an Israeli prison was a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits “the deportation of protected persons from an Occupied Territory to the territory of the Occupying Power”.
“Mohammed’s health is dire and requires your immediate action to ensure Mohammed is free, safe, and with his parents - his life is on the line," the letter reads.
Middle East Eye reported last week that, according to Mohammed's father, Zaher, the teenager had lost a quarter of his body weight and developed scabies while in prison. US embassy staff confirmed the weight loss to Mohammed's father.
The letter says Mohammed has been denied medical treatment in Ofer prison, which is notorious for being a "known place of abuse of Palestinian children", according to his attorneys.
