A 16-year-old Palestinian American youth from Brevard County was released from an Israeli prison Thursday after being held since February on allegations of rock throwing in the West Bank.
The U.S. State Department confirmed the release of Mohammed Ibrahim in a statement sent to the Phoenix on Friday.
鈥淭he Department of State welcomes the news of the release of U.S. citizen Mohammed Ibrahim from detention in Israel,鈥� said a State Department spokesperson, who added that 鈥渢he Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens.鈥�
During a press conference , an attorney for his family said that Ibrahim had originally been held in Israel鈥檚 Megiddo Prison, where they said he had contracted scabies but been denied medical treatment. Family members said he had lost more than 25 pounds since his detention began.
In a press release issued Thursday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)鈥檚 Florida chapter, the organization said it had shared a sworn statement with members of Congress detailing how Ibrahim had been 鈥渂eaten with rifle butts, starved, denied medical care, and threatened by masked interrogators who coerced him into a false confession under fear of further violence.鈥�
CAIR and CAIR-Florida are calling on the State Department, members of Congress, faith leaders, and civil-society organizations to press for a full public accounting of Ibrahim鈥檚 treatment and 鈥渃oncrete consequences for the Israeli officials responsible.鈥�
NPR r earlier this month Ibrahim had been charged with two counts of stone-throwing at a moving vehicle, which could have resulted in a penalty of 20 years. A military court had been scheduled to hear his case on Dec. 15.
The Guardian earlier this month that the Israeli embassy in Washington had been circulating a letter in the nation鈥檚 capital defending its nine-month detention of Ibrahim and the medical treatment. The publication said the letter had not mentioned his dramatic weight loss or that his family had virtually no contact with him since he was arrested in February for allegedly throwing 鈥渞ocks at vehicles belonging to Israeli citizens鈥� or a confession after being interrogated the night of his arrest.
In October, 27 members of Congress, including Florida Democratic U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Maxwell Frost, to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee expressing 鈥済rave concerns鈥� over Ibrahim鈥檚 treatment, and called on them to press the Israeli government to release him.
Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen also signed that letter.
鈥淚 was relieved to hear from his family today and to know that he鈥檚 safe and where he belongs 鈥� with his family,鈥� Van Hollen said on on Thursday.
The letter noted that Ibrahim was the cousin of, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen from Tampa who was reportedly beaten to death by Israel settlers in July, with no one yet held to account regarding his killing.
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