The lawyer of the Prisoners and Freed Prisoners Affairs Authority reported that prisoner Mahmoud Al-Hajj (22 years old) from the town of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah, was subjected to a brutal assault by prison guards and investigators at the Al-Maskobiya Investigation Center.

The Authority's lawyer explained, according to his visit to prisoner Al-Hajj during the Al-Maskobiya investigation at the end of last week, that since his arrest on July 8th until the date of the visit, he has been subject to continuous investigation.

The prisoner Al-Hajj revealed to the Commission’s lawyer the reason for the recent brutal assault on him, saying: “The occupation investigator approached my face and started screaming loudly. I moved my head away and it accidentally hit his face and nose. As a result, a group of soldiers came and took me out of the investigation room to the corridors. They started beating me and assaulting me with sticks on my back, which necessitated my transfer to the prison clinic, and then to a detention room, where my legs and arms were tied to the bed. I was deprived of food, water, and using the bathroom for (40) hours. The investigator whose face and nose I hit filed a complaint against me.”

The Commission warned against committing a crime against prisoner Al-Hajj, calling on human rights and humanitarian institutions to exert all forms of pressure to get him out of the Al-Maskobiya interrogation center, and not to leave him prey to the prison guards and investigators.