Despite Evidence Confirming His Innocence, Israeli Occupation Moves Ahead With Life Sentence Against Palestinian Political Prisoner

Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

July 21, 2026

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – Despite evidence confirming his innocence—including more than 85 court hearings and over 140 witness testimonies exposing major contradictions, inconsistencies, and critical gaps in the military prosecution's case—the Israeli occupation's military court held yet another hearing on Monday at the ‘Salem’ military detention center as part of proceedings to sentence a Palestinian man to life imprisonment on the false allegation that he caused the death of an Israeli occupation soldier.

The military court hearing reviewed the case of political prisoner Nazmi Mohammad Abu Bakr (55), from the town of Ya'bad, Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank. It focused on arguments concerning his expected life sentence, in addition to financial "compensation" amounting to millions of shekels.

In a joint statement, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said the hearing followed the military court's decision to convict Abu Bakr of "intentional murder," six years after his arrest.

The defense team reiterated during Monday’s session prisoner Abu Bakr's innocence of all "charges" attributed to him. In brief remarks by Abu Bakr via video conference, the detainee reaffirmed his innocence, categorically denying the charges against him. He appeared extremely exhausted and tired, speaking of the tragic conditions he lives in behind Israeli prison bars and the harsh and worsening detention conditions to which prisoners are subjected.

At the conclusion of the session, the ‘Salem’ military court decided to postpone the announcement of the final verdict against the detainee to an unspecified date.

Israeli occupation forces arrested Mohammad Abu Bakr on May 12, 2020, alleging he caused the death of an Israeli soldier by throwing a concrete block from the balcony of his house.

Since the moment of his arrest, prisoner Abu Bakr was subjected to harsh torture and interrogation operations at the ‘Jalameh’ detention center, during which he consistently denied the charges attributed to him. He was also denied access to his lawyer during the initial phase of the investigation and was subjected to solitary confinement.

The Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the PPS emphasized that the case of Abu Bakr embodies, once again, the lack of fair trial guarantees before the occupation's military courts, which have, since the establishment of the occupation, constituted one of the main tools for entrenching policies of repression and collective punishment, and providing a formal legal cover for the grave violations committed against Palestinians.

The two organizations explained that these courts have lacked, for decades, the minimum standards of justice, independence, and integrity, and rely on exceptional procedures that systematically restrict the rights of detainees to defense and a fair trial, including reliance on confessions extracted under torture and ill-treatment, and depriving detainees of basic legal guarantees. This makes their decisions an extension of the colonial system of oppression and a tool to lend formal legitimacy to policies of repression and impunity.

(ENDS)