Israel releases Palestinian prisoner controversially arrested aged 13

Israel has released a Palestinian man who was controversially arrested at the age of 13, after he spent nearly a decade in jail.

“Ahmad has completed his 10-year sentence and he is a free person now,” Zabarqa said. “The Israeli authorities have imposed restriction on the family as far as holding a welcome ceremony for Ahmad or talking to the media. “

Ahmad Manasra was arrested and imprisoned in 2015 after being caught with his cousin Hassan who stabbed two Israelis in East Jerusalem.

Hassan was shot dead at the scene while Manasra was run over by a car.

Manasra’s case gained international attention after a video emerged of crowds shouting abuse at him after the incident while he lies motionless, seriously injured and crying out. Other footage allegedly shows Israeli officials interrogating Manasra under duress as he is visibly shaken and vulnerable, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

He was sentenced to 12 years for attempted murder in 2016, despite Israeli courts’ recognizing he had not been involved in the stabbings, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society added. His sentence was revised down to nine and a half years following an appeal in 2017

International groups have repeatedly called on Israeli authorities for his release over the years over concerns of his treatment and extended stays in solitary confinement, coupled with mental health issues and a schizophrenia diagnosis.

“His physical and medical condition is very difficult as he suffers from head injuries and physiological mental health as he was in solitary confinement and was subjected to harsh interrogation when he was a child,” his lawyer said.

Israel’s prison authorities confirmed Manasra was being released on Thursday, adding “Israel is a state of law, we don’t torture people here.”