Palestinian ‘doctor of the poor’ alleges medical neglect, abuse in Israeli prison
A Palestinian doctor known as the “doctor of the poor” says he suffered medical neglect, overcrowding and physical abuse while held in Israel’s Ofer prison, according to a new report by Haaretz.
Mazen Rantisi often waives consultation fees for low-income Palestinians. He was arrested at home on June 21 and indicted for serving as chairman of the board of the Union of Health Work Committees. The committee is a nonprofit that provides medical care to thousands of Palestinians each year.
According to testimony he gave to an attorney from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Rantisi said that prison authorities withheld his regular medication for the first 10 days of his detention in Ofer prison and continue to deny him one of his prescribed medicines.
He said repeated requests to see a doctor were ignored, with a medic checking his pulse only once through a small opening in his cell door.
