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Palestinian footballer released

July 10, 2012

Israel has released Mahmoud Sarsak after a 95-day hunger strike. The footballer was held for almost three years without trial or charge, but was accused of having ties to a militant group.

https://p.dw.com/p/15Ukm
Palestinian soccer player Mahmoud Al-Sarsak waves to people upon his arrival in Gaza City July 10, 2012.
Image: Reuters

Israel released Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Sarsak Tuesday after holding him without trial for nearly three years. He agreed to end his 95-day hunger strike last month in exchange for medical treatment and an early release.

Crowds received the former national team player with flowers, raising posters with his name. At Gaza's al-Shifa hospital, he emerged from an ambulance and kissed his parents and siblings.

Mohammed Jabarin, Sarsak's lawyer, told the Reuters news agency last month that there had been a "substantial deterioration in his health", and that he required hospital treatment.

Originally from the Gaza Strip, Sarsak was arrested in 2009 at Erez under Israel's Unlawful Combatant Law, which allows the incarceration of some Palestinians and Lebanese without trial. He was traveling from Gaza through Israel to meet teammates in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian girls hold posters showing Mahmoud Sarsak, a former player with the Palestinian national football team and Akram Rikhawi during a demonstration in support of the Palestinians prisoners held in Israeli jails, at a prisoners protest tent in the Rafah Refugee Camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 7, 2012.
Palestinians demostrated in June over Sarsak's imprisonmentImage: AP

Sarsak, who shed nearly half his weight during the hunger strike, was accused of having ties to the Islamic Jihad militant group. He denies the allegation and was never formally charged.

Israel has released three other Palestinians who agreed to end their hunger strikes in exchange for release over the past few months.

His incarceration sparked a response from FIFA, who expressed concern over his detention. They urged in a statement for all Palestinian footballers held by Israel to be given their "right to due process".

dr/msh (Reuters, dpa, AFP)