Palestinian Child Killed in Israeli Prison After Being “Systematically Starved”

The first known Palestinian child to be killed in an Israeli prison, Walid Khalid Abdullah Ahmad, was starved, had untreated diseases, and was repeatedly beaten by guards before he died last month, his autopsy report shows.

The autopsy shows that Ahmad suffered from “extreme body muscle and fat wasting, evidenced by a sunken abdomen,” caused by “extreme, likely prolonged malnutrition,” reported Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) on Thursday. His body also showed evidence that he had been beaten on his chest and abdomen while imprisoned, as shown by air collection, the group said.

At the time of his death, Ahmad also suffered from diseases like scabies and colitis, which likely caused diarrhea and dehydration. He had a number of abrasions and cuts, present on his nose, chest, hip and neck.

His autopsy was conducted in a facility in Tel Aviv. Israeli authorities are withholding his body from his family.

“Walid’s autopsy indicates that Israeli prison guards systematically starved and abused him for months until he finally collapsed, struck his head, and died,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, head of DCIP’s accountability program.

DCIP said that it was clear that Ahmad was denied medical care, despite suffering from numerous life-threatening conditions — a “clear violation” of international law, DCIP said.

“Starvation is a tool of genocide, seeking to weaken and ultimately destroy both the body and spirit of Palestinian child detainees held in Israeli prisons,” said Eqtaish.

Israeli authorities were holding Ahmad, who was 17 years old, in Megiddo prison, a torture camp notorious for its abuses against Palestinian detainees. It is particularly known for its abuses against children.

He was detained by Israeli forces from his home in the occupied West Bank last September in the middle of the night, and was in pre-trial detention when he was killed.

On March 22, Ahmad collapsed and hit his head while walking in the prison yard. Guards declined to help him, even after other child detainees called for support, so the children carried him to the entry to the yard, where Israeli guards took custody of him before he died, according to DCIP.

Ahmad’s lawyer, Firas al-Jabrini, has previously said that Israeli authorities repeatedly denied requests to visit Ahmad. He has also said that prisoners held with Ahmad believed they were contracting diseases from dirty water and spoiled cheese and milk fed to them in prison.

Ahmad’s is one of at least 72 bodies of Palestinians who have been killed in Israeli prisons being withheld from their families. Israeli forces are currently holding 10,000 Palestinians in detention, including hundreds of children; the most common charge against children being imprisoned is stone throwing.

Recently, DCIP reported that the number of children Israel is holding in “administrative detention” — meaning that they are being held without charges or trial — has hit a record high, of at least 112 children.