Palestinians packed in intolerably overcrowded cells in Israeli prisons, says report
The Israeli Public Defender's Office published a report on Tuesday stating that some Israeli prisons have been declared to be in a state of emergency due to severe overcrowding.
According to the report, since the start of the war on 7 October at least 3,400 people have been imprisoned.
The overcrowding has resulted in the violation of the basic rights of people in prison, including many being forced to sleep on the floor.
During a visit by members of the Public Defender’s Office, squalid conditions were noted, including "intolerable overcrowding", with less than three square metres of space per person; poor sanitary conditions; pest issues; inadequate ventilation, and a lack of basic necessities for the incarcerated.
The report said that the overcrowding has caused people stress and anxiety, which can at times cause unnecessary friction in cells.
A statement from the Public Defender’s Office said that it had witnessed an “unprecedented prison crisis, in which detainees and prisoners were crowded into inhumane living spaces”.
It added that almost half of the incarcerated in Israel are held in harsh conditions that do not meet the High Court’s "first step" of living space, which states that they are to be held in an area of no less than three square metres.
Read more: Palestinians packed in intolerably overcrowded cells in Israeli prisons, says report
