The long overdue release of Palestinian aid worker and prisoner of conscience, Mohammed al-Halabi, as part of the prisoner-hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, brings to an end his agonizing ordeal and a flagrant miscarriage of justice, said Amnesty International today, reiterating calls for the immediate release of all civilian hostages in Gaza and Palestinians arbitrarily detained in Israel.
Al-Halabi, the former Gaza director of humanitarian aid and development organization World Vision, was arrested by the Israeli security agency at the Erez crossing between Israel and occupied Gaza on 15 June 2016. He was interrogated without a lawyer, tortured, tried in secret hearings and convicted after a grossly unfair trial based on undisclosed evidence that he had allegedly diverted funds to Hamas. In August 2022, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Beersheba District Court.
Upon his release on 1 February 2025, al-Halabi showed visible signs of torture and starvation, including an alarming loss of weight.
“Mohammed al-Halabi was unjustly targeted by Israeli authorities for his humanitarian work. He never should have been arrested in the first place, let alone been forced to spend almost nine years unlawfully imprisoned. The Kafkaesque proceedings against him, including his prolonged pretrial detention, the multiple postponements of his trial which lasted six years, and wrongful conviction, which heavily relied on a statement by a prisoner informant, were an appalling miscarriage of justice,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns.
Mohammed al-Halabi was unjustly targeted by Israeli authorities for his humanitarian work. He never should have been arrested in the first place, let alone been forced to spend almost nine years unlawfully imprisoned.
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International
“Mohammed al-Halabi’s wrongful conviction must be quashed. The torture and other ill-treatment to which he was subjected both during interrogation and while in prison must be independently investigated and those responsible held accountable.”
“His horrifying ordeal behind bars demonstrates how Israel’s discriminatory justice system helps to maintain the cruel system of apartheid against Palestinians. It also underscores the urgent need for Israeli authorities to release all Palestinians who are arbitrarily detained in Israeli prisons.”
Throughout the proceedings against him, the Israeli prosecution failed to substantiate allegations that al-Halabi was guilty of diverting funds to Hamas and the charges against him relied on “secret” evidence and a coerced statement by a prisoner informant. Despite enormous pressure, al-Halabi repeatedly refused to enter in any plea bargain which would have given him a significantly reduced sentence in exchange for “confessing” to charges that he vehemently denied.
Speaking to Amnesty International after his release and return to his severely damaged home in Gaza City, al-Halabi said: “They [Israeli authorities] tortured me but never broke my spirit. I maintain my innocence of any of the charges levelled against me and I remain adamant to prove that in court even after my release.”
He described how after 7 October 2023 he was transferred to Nafha prison in southern Israel where prisoners’ radios were confiscated, and most lawyer visits, were denied, as was any contact with family members or independent monitors. Throughout the 15 months of conflict, he was only able to receive scraps of news about his loved ones in Gaza on the one occasion he was able to meet with his lawyer.
“That was the worst: not knowing whether my wife and children are alive, not knowing how they were coping? Have they been displaced? Have they been bombed? Will I ever see them again? That was even worse than the starvation and torture that we were subjected to [in prison].”
That was the worst: not knowing whether my wife and children are alive, not knowing how they were coping? Have they been displaced? Have they been bombed? Will I ever see them again?
Mohammed al-Halabi, Palestinian aid worker
Al-Halabi also told Amnesty International that he is keen to resume his humanitarian work:
“The need for humanitarian relief, the type of work I used to do before my arrest, is greater than ever. In previous wars, we used to divide damaged buildings into fully and partially destroyed, but when I went back to Jabalia refugee camp, [in North Gaza governorate] I found out that the category ‘partially destroyed’ is virtually nonexistent. Almost every building is flattened.”
Al-Halabi expressed his gratitude for the public support he has received from all over the world since his arrest: “Even during my darkest hours, I knew that many people believed in my innocence, that supporters of justice were campaigning for my release. Their solidarity will always be engraved in my heart.”
Background:
On 30 August 2022, Mohammed al-Halabi was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Beersheba District Court. He filed an appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court, acting as the High Court of Appeals, against his conviction and the appeal remained pending until his release on 1 February during the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience in May 2023 concluding that Israeli authorities were targeting him to intimidate other human rights defenders and to shrink the space of humanitarian work in Gaza at the time.
Mohammed al-Halabi was released in the fourth batch of a prisoner-hostage swap between Israel and Hamas. Amnesty International also reiterates its call on Hamas and other armed groups to immediately and unconditionally release all civilians held hostage in Gaza and for Israel to free all arbitrarily detained Palestinians, including those who have been forcibly disappeared or held incommunicado.
For more information see: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/6714/2023/en/
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