Though she was released from an Israeli prison after 15 years behind bars, Lina al-Jarbouni still feels her joy is not complete.
“My joy is incomplete since there are thousands of Palestinians still languishing in Israeli jails,” Jarbouni told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.
The longest-serving Palestinian female prisoner in Israeli prisons, Jarbouni was released last week by Israeli authorities after 15 years in detention.
Born in 1974 in the Arab-Israeli town of Arraba, Jarbouni was arrested in 2002 at the height of the Palestinian uprising against Israel on charges of belonging to Palestinian group Islamic Jihad, which Israel considers as a “terrorist organization”.
She was slapped with a 17-year jail term, but her sentence was later reduced to 15 years in prison after a court appeal.
Jarbouni said her happiness was mixed with grief for other Palestinians still imprisoned by Israel.
“The Palestinian prisoners now stand against the Israeli authorities that want to take away their rights which they have gained through years of hunger strikes and dozens of deaths,” she said.
On Monday, more than 1,500 Palestinian prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike to protest Israel’s detention policies.
Participants in the strike, which was launched to coincide with Palestinian Prisoners Day, demand improved medical care and better treatment for female inmates.
