Al-Maqdese received today a decision stating that department 4 of Nafha prison will be closed to make the necessary repairs and renovations there. Al-Maqdese Legal Clinic was pursuing the file of prisoners of Jerusalem and lands within the green line; these prisoners were moved from Galbou’ prison to department 4 in Nafha prison on 04/03/2012. Following a number of onsite visits that aimed to stay updated about the suffering of prisoners, and looking for means to end it, Al-Maqdese submitted complaints by advocate Bassam Alas’ad to the government judiciary advisor, the ministry of internal security, the representative of prisons services, and the officer of Nafha prison. The judge decided to close the department to make the necessary repairs and renovations.
If this decision is implemented on the ground, this means that the suffering of about 80 prisoners in department 4 of Nafha prison will come to an end as their detention conditions will be better. The chambers of this department lack many supplies and crucial requirements, for example, there is no access for air and sun, 80 prisoners are divided among 8 rooms, where each 10 sleep in small chambers with an area of 25 m2. In addition, these rooms are not valid for human beings, they are very old, dirty, dark, and humidity there is also high. In addition, the weather in Nafha is very hot and the small windows do not allow the entrance of sun and air, and what makes things worse is the bugs and insects, which expose prisoners to different diseases.
Moreover, the outside yard is very small, and does not fit the large number of prisoners. As for the toilets, the same area is used for shower and toilets, which is less than one and one meter and a half. Toilets are placed between beds in a very bad condition that does not apply with the minimum level of hygiene, where the door is eroded by rust and the bathroom walls are worn-out.
