On Wednesday, 25 October, the Early Release Committee of the Israel Prison Service held a hearing on the case of Sami Abu Diak, the severely ill Palestinian prisoner suffering from colon cancer. Palestinian lawyers have petitioned for his release so that he can receive urgent medical treatment. However, a further hearing on the case was delayed until 21 November 2017 after a request by the Israeli prosecution to prepare an additional report about Abu Diak’s treatment.
Abu Diak has been sentenced to three life sentences and has undergone three operations while imprisoned. 80 cm of his intestines were removed at Soroka hospital in 2015; following the surgery, he was quickly transferred to the Ramle prison clinic where his wounds became infected and he fell into a coma following the severe infection. His disease has continued to worsen since that time. He was denied early release in 2015 after his coma.
