World Vision. Mohammed al-Halabi, a humanitarian aid worker...Mohammed al-Halabi, detención, tortura y liberación ENG/ESP

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Mohammed al-Halabi, a humanitarian aid worker detained by Israel without evidence, has been released—but years of torture and starvation have left him unrecognizable.

Mohammed’s ordeal began on June 15, 2016, at the Beit Hanoun (Eretz) Crossing. Israeli occupation soldiers arrested him on his way back from a World Vision meeting in Jerusalem. We only learned of his detention three days later. We were also told that he was being held in Askalan Prison.

Mohammed spent 52 days under constant and harrowing interrogation. From the very first day of detention, the Israeli intelligence officers placed a filthy bag over his head and hanged him from the ceiling for prolonged periods. They denied him sleep, and whenever they were done with their terrible deeds, they would throw him into an incredibly tiny cell, barely large enough for one person to sit down, let alone sleep. He would be left there without a mattress and a cover.

He was physically assaulted on numerous occasions. Each time, they would follow the same brutal routine: they slapped him, kicked him, especially in his genitals, and then strangled him until he felt that he was about to die. They would stop and resume a short while later. At times, they placed him in a small room and played deafening music until the pain in his ears became unbearable. As a result, he lost 40 percent of his hearing. In the summer, they would strip him naked, then blast him with flashes of warm air. They would repeat the same process in the winter, but with cold air, instead.

His time in prison and all the physical torture he was forced to endure have left him quite ill. Just the fact that they kept slamming him against the wall while shaking him repeatedly and violently, made him faint several times. But Israeli authorities refuse to let him see a doctor.  After they concluded their long and torturous interrogations, they transferred him to Nafha Prison, where he was paraded before a military court in Bir Al-Saba’. At the time of writing these words, my son has endured 115 official court sessions.  The occupation wants Mohammed to admit to things he has not done. He said as much to the lawyer, that, no matter what they did to him, he will not assume responsibility for acts he did not commit. Despite the lies of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Mohammed has admitted to diverting money to the resistance, my son officially pleaded not guilty to all charges against him in a district court trial in Bir Al-Saba’ on February 2, 2017.  However, everyone understands that the real reason behind all of this is that Israel wants to stop World Vision from operating in Gaza, a place that Israel wants to remain isolated, broken and pushed to its knees.  My son is an exceptional human being who has achieved so much in his young life, for his family and his people. He was featured in a UN campaign in 2014 as being one of the world’s “humanitarian heroes”. World Vision itself awarded him “Humanitarian of the Year” for his tireless efforts to aid Gaza under these harsh conditions.