Palestinian Hunger Striker Suffers Brain Damage

Israeli court suspends detention of Mohammed Allan
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2015 5:40 PM CDT
Palestinian Hunger Striker Suffers Brain Damage
Mazoza Allan, left, and Amid Allan, a brother of Mohammed Allan wait outside an Israeli hospital Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

A Palestinian lawyer who hasn't eaten in more than two months to protest his detention in Israel won a court victory today, though he's likely not aware of it. Mohammed Allen, 31, remains sedated in a hospital, and a medical exam shows that he has suffered brain damage because of his long fast, reports the New York Times. It's not clear whether the damage is permanent or how severe it is. He is no longer a detainee, however, which means he won't be handcuffed to his hospital bed and his family can visit, reports AP. Israel's Supreme Court suspended his detention after determining that he did not pose a security threat. If the damage is permanent, it will be lifted permanently. If he recovers, there's a chance he could be detained again.

Allan was arrested in November 2014 and accused of being involved in terrorism, though the government has yet to officially charge him, reports the BBC. He began his hunger strike on June 16 and fell unconscious on Friday. Israel has a new law that permits the force-feeding of prisoners, though Allan's condition had deteriorated too much for that to be done, reports Reuters. He was, however, receiving salts and minerals through an IV. "There is some damage in a part of the brain that was probably caused by a lack of vitamins ... and it is expressed in other systems of his body," a doctor at Barzilai hospital told a local TV station. (More hunger strike stories.)

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