TNA Staff
The New Arab / April 10, 2025
Many noted Manasra looked frail, with a visible scar on his head, following his release, while others highlighted scores of others remain behind bars.
Ahmed Manasra, a Palestinian prisoner who was imprisoned at the age of 13, was released by Israeli authorities on Thursday, after his nine and a half-year sentence came to an end.
Manasra’s lawyer, Khaled Zabarqa, confirmed the news in local Palestinian media.
According to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian photo-journalist and activist Abdalafo Bassam, Manasra was released “far away from the prison, despite [prison authorities] knowing his family were waiting for him at the prison gates”.
“One of the Bedouin brothers from the Sab’aa area met him, before calling his family and informing them of his release,” he added, in a comment posted on social media.
Reports in Palestinian media state that while he was freed from prison, he will still face many restrictions placed on him, his family, and talking with the press.
Many hailed his release but also highlighted the dire conditions he faced while in Israeli detention, and noted that the scar on his head was still visible.
Others pointed out that scores of Palestinians remain behind bars, without fair trial or access to lawyers.
“Prisoner Ahmed Manasra was released from Israeli prisons and slaughterhouses, leaving behind more than 12,000 Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of children and dozens of women,” one post read.
“Will the occupation leave them alone? Of course not. He threw Ahmed on the side of the road in a place no one knows about. Ahmed has been suffering from serious psychological pain and problems in recent years. By chance, a young man from the Sabaa area met him, welcomed him into his home, and called his family,” another post read.
Earlier this week, Abdullah Zaghari, a spokesperson for the Palestine Prisoners’ Club, confirmed to The New Arab on Wednesday that Manasra was set to be released soon.
Manasra was imprisoned after he was charged with allegedly stabbing and wounding two Israelis near the Pisgat Zeev settlement in occupied east Jerusalem in 2015.
As he was considered underage under Israel’s Youth Law at the time, court proceedings were postponed until he reached age 14.
Manasra’s subsequent arrest garnered worldwide attention at the time due to video footage showing him being interrogated by three Israeli men who shouted and threatened him, leaving him looking visibly distressed.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, despite being found by courts not to have participated in stabbings. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence to nine and a half years in August 2017.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, despite being found by courts not to have participated in stabbings. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence to nine and a half years in August 2017.
‘Years of injustice’
Following Mansara’s release, Amnesty International released a statement both hailing him being freed but also denouncing his treatment in prison.
“Ahmad Manasra’s release today is a huge relief for him and for his family, but nothing can undo the years of injustice, abuse, trauma and ill-treatment he endured behind bars,” the statement reads.
“We express our deepest hope for Ahmad’s recovery from the profound trauma he has suffered. He must be granted adequate access to the healthcare he needs in his native East Jerusalem without any discrimination and he and his family must be protected from any form of intimidation and abuse,” it continues.
The rights group further said that his ill-treatment in Israeli prison is part of broader patterns of abuse against Palestinian detainees, particularly children.
“Three weeks ago, a 17-year-old Palestinian detainee, Walid Khalid Abdullah Ahmad, died in Israeli custody likely due to a combination of starvation and extreme medical neglect and abuse, as evidenced by his autopsy,” the group said.
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Palestinian ‘child prisoner’ Ahmad Manasra freed after 9 years in Israeli jail
TNA Staff
The New Arab / April 11, 2025
Ahmad Manasra was arrested by Israeli forces in October 2015, when he was just 13 years old. Although the court later confirmed that he did not participate in the stabbings of two Israeli settlers, he was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years, later reduced to nine.
His violent arrest and leaked interrogation video — where he is seen panicking, injured, and repeatedly saying “I don’t remember” — drew widespread condemnation. He was interrogated without a parent or lawyer, in violation of international law.
After years of abuse, Ahmad developed severe mental health issues, including schizophrenia and depression. In 2021, he was placed in solitary confinement for nearly two years, a move human rights groups described as torture. Ahmad’s case triggered a change in Israeli law in 2016, allowing children as young as 12 to be imprisoned for serious crimes. His release was expected to take place at Nafha prison, but Israeli authorities left him in an unknown location in the Negev desert.
He was found by a Palestinian Bedouin who contacted his family. According to Save the Children, around 10,000 Palestinian children have been detained by Israeli forces in the last 20 years. Ahmad’s story has become one of the most emblematic cases of how the Israeli legal and military system treats Palestinian minors.
