Strike aimed to highlight sick detainees

Palestinian prisoner Akram al-Rekhawi, who ended a 102 day hunger strike on Sunday, says he aimed to drew attention to the plight of seriously ill detainees. In a letter sent to the PA Minister of Detainee Affairs, al-Rekhawi said prisoners languishing in the clinic of Ramle prison suffered medical neglect by Israeli prison authorities. He said he did not fear death during his hunger strike but wanted to end the suffering of Palestinian prisoners whose medical needs were neglected without regard for international humanitarian law. The father of eight said there was an international moral responsibility to end the Israeli government's disregard for prisoners' lives, particularly those with serious illnesses and disabilities. Al-Rekhawi suffers diabetes, asthma and osteoporosis and has been held in Ramle prison clinic since his arrest in 2004. He was due to be freed in June 2013 but went on hunger strike to demand his release on medical grounds. He concluded his strike on Sunday after reaching a deal with Israeli authorities to release him six months early in January 2013.