Geneva - QPI
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, expressed “deep concern” about the deteriorating health conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails who have been on hunger strike for nearly 40 days.

The commissioner said in a statement yesterday:
"I am especially alarmed by reports of punitive measures by the Israeli authorities against the hunger strikers, including restricted access to lawyers and the denial of family visits."
“The right of detainees to access a lawyer is a fundamental protection in international human rights law that should never be curtailed,” he added.
“Various international bodies have repeatedly called on Israel to end its practice of administrative detention,” he said, adding that such detainees should either be charged with an offence and tried, according to international standards, or released immediate.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails began an open hunger strike on 17 April, demanding, amongst other things, an end to administrative detention and solitary confinement as well as an increase in the number and length of family visits and improved access to healthcare.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency
Translated by: Middle East Monitor
In collaboration with the Palestinian Media Forum