Ahmad Manasra - Nine years in the prison’s cells: This is how yesterday's child returned a young man
The administration of Nafha Desert Prison released 22-year-old Jerusalemite prisoner Ahmad Saleh Manasra today, after completing his nine-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Following his release, the occupation intelligence service transferred him to house-arrest until next Sunday.
Ahmad Manasra is from the town of Beit Hanina in Jerusalem and was arrested in 2015. At the time of his arrest, he was run over and seriously injured, while settlers hurled insults and incitement to kill him as he was laying on the ground, covered in blood, in the Pisgat Ze'ev settlement near his home. He was unable to move or speak due to his injuries, while settlers surrounded him on all sides. At that moment, his cousin, Hassan Manasra, was martyred.
Ahmed was released today in the afternoon, but the Nafha prison administration deliberately released him to a location far from the prison, a "remote area," despite his family being at the designated prisoner release site. Fortunately, a Palestinian from the Beer Sheva area saw him and helped him contact his family. Ahmed remembered his father's phone number and called him through the young Palestinian man.
Upon Ahmed's arrival in Jerusalem with his family, they headed directly to the "Rooms 4" police station in the western part of the city. This was based on a previous request from the police to summon him for questioning on the day of his release, following a series of interrogations conducted with his father in recent days.
After his detention and interrogation, the intelligence service decided to release him under strict conditions, including house arrest until Sunday, a ban on gatherings, no one allowed to enter the family building except its residents, a ban on raising flags or banners, and a fine of 3,000 shekels imposed on the family.
As a result of the beating and running over he suffered on the day of his arrest, Ahmed suffered a skull fracture that caused an internal hematoma. He was also subjected to harsh physical and psychological interrogations, including sleep and rest deprivation, prolonged isolation from other prisoners, and denial of visits and treatment, which led to a significant deterioration in his psychological state.
Despite the deterioration of his health and psychological state, the occupation authorities have refused over the past years to ease the restrictions imposed on him. The Early Release Committee refused to consider Ahmed's release request, claiming that his case falls under the "Terrorism Law." All appeals demanding that this classification be revoked, his isolation be ended, and his return to the prisoners' rooms were rejected.
Today, Ahmed Manasra looked pale, thin, and mentally and physically exhausted. Incitement calls against him by settlers continue to appear from time to time, intensifying in the past two days following the announcement of his release date. Among their incitement slogans was: "Jerusalem is less safe with the decision to release Manasra."
Ahmed Manasra, who was a child when he was arrested in 2015, was released from prison today a young man exhausted by years of imprisonment, isolation, interrogation, and abuse. Nine and a half years have passed, during which he has transformed from a child facing his interrogators alone with his repeated cries of "I don't remember," to a young man bearing the traces of pain.
Ahmed did not grow up within his family, but within the walls of his prison cells, deprived of education and a normal life.
