⭕Former Palestinian Prisoner Martyred After Years of Abuse in Israeli Occupation Jails

April 3, 2026 

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – Former Palestinian political prisoner, Riyad al-Amour - who was exiled to Egypt following the most recent prisoner-exchange - succumbed to the systematic torture and medical crimes he suffered in Israeli occupation prisons for over two decades, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said on Friday. 

Al-Amour, from the village of Tuqu’ in Bethlehem, was released as part of the so-called ceasefire agreement in October 2025. He was arrested in 2002 and spent 23 years behind bars. Al-Amour was released in critical health condition and underwent multiple surgeries in the brief six months he spent outside the prison bars before passing away. 

The Commission and the PPS hold occupation authorities fully responsible for his death. During his time in detention, al-Amour underwent harsh and prolonged interrogations and was subjected to severe torture, causing him to lose hearing in one ear. This torture intensified again following the start of the genocide in occupied Gaza. Al-Amour also suffered serious intentional denial of medical care with regards to the heart problems he had, in an attempt by the prison services to kill him. For over a decade, prison authorities denied him a new pacemaker despite multiple legal interventions.

His case is emblematic of the dozens of Palestinian political prisoners who were released in severely difficult health and physical condition, many of whom did not live to enjoy their freedom, or ended up with life-long health problems and disabilities. 

Al-Amour’s death comes days after the occupation’s approval of a law permitting the execution of Palestinian political prisoners, making his experience an example of the “slow execution” policies that the occupation has practiced against prisoners for decades. 

Despite his difficult condition, al-Amour devoted years of his detention to serving fellow sick prisoners in the “Ramla Prison Clinic,” where he spent most of his imprisonment. 

Palestinian Prisoner's Society & Commission of Detainees' Affairs