EU calls for ‘transparent investigation’ into death of Palestinian prisoner

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The European Union calls on Israeli authorities to investigate the death of Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan, an EU official said on Tuesday.

“The European Union has engaged with Israeli authorities on the case of Mr. Adnan, including the Ministry of Health, to inquire the Israeli state about his condition,” Peter Stano, the European Commission’s lead spokesperson on foreign affairs, told reporters.

He stressed that Adnan died protesting his “indictment of incitement and affiliation with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is a terror organization.”

The EU calls for a “transparent investigation on the circumstances that led to his death,” Stano said.

He reiterated the EU’s general position demanding all countries respect international human rights obligation towards prisoners.

Stano also underlined that the EU urges all parties “to prevent escalation in an already volatile situation” following “the calls for retaliation by Palestinian armed groups.”

Adnan, a prominent Islamic Jihad group figure, died in prison earlier on Tuesday after an 86-day hunger strike against his detention without trial or charge.

He became the symbol of the Palestinian resistance against Israeli detention policies as he took several hunger strikes in jail since 2012.