Twelve Israeli prison officials have been charged with manslaughter and with an aggravated assault offense in relation to the death of the Palestinian inmate Thaer Abu Asab, who died in November 2023 in the Ketziot prison, located in the Negev desert, after an alleged beating.
According to the indictment, Walid Hatib, responsible for the prison service at the time of the events, allegedly instructed eleven other guards to enter one of the cells and beat the Palestinian inmates held there using punches, kicks, and, in some cases, batons.
After supervising the alleged assaults, the commander allegedly ordered the officers to cease the blows and leave the place. Following the beating, Abu Asab was first taken to the infirmary of the prison and later transferred to a hospital, where his death was certified. Eight other Palestinian inmates were injured.
The Israeli authorities later opened an investigation into what happened. According to the accusation, Hatib allegedly asked one of the guards to lie and present a false version of the events, as reported by several Israeli media.
Abu Asab, 38 years old and originally from the Qalqilya governorate in northern West Bank, belonged to the Fatah movement and was serving a 25-year prison sentence since 2005 for an attempted murder linked to a terrorist attack.