“Martyr and 3 prisoners from the same family”

Name: Bilal Awad Abu Osba

Birth date: 1980

Hometown: Rafat village

Residence: Rafat village

Sentence: 10 years

From the village of Rafat issued the “Engineer” Yehya Ayyash. He rewrote the face of Palestinian struggle against the vicious occupation. He established the law that the occupation’s crimes are a debt that is eventually repaid. From this village came the prisoner Bilal Abu Osba. He is another man carrying on the tradition and fulfilling the mission.

Family & Education:

Bilal was born in 1980 to an average family known for its Islamic observance and care for education. As a result, he grew up in a caring environment that took care of his needs. He was a Muslim from youth, gathering the spiritual and physical strength loved by Allah Almighty.

He was arrested before finishing his secondary education; but that didn’t stop him from passing the secondary school exams and attaining the certificate in prison.

Awad Abu Osba was detained in 1988 and sentenced to administrative detention in Al-Naqab desert prison. Badran, Bilal’s oldest brother, was martyred in 1997. Bilal mourned his brother in prison. Zahran and Tala, Bilal’s other brothers are detained and are serving sentences of 15 and 6 years respectively.

Their mother says, “Gratitude and thanks to Allah in all situations. Everyone dies; but it is an honor for those who give something for the sake of Allah, and stand before Him on the Day of Judgment with that deed. My four sons were my pride among the people; but they’re all gone now. One was martyred and 3 are serving long prison sentences. I pray to Allah to accept their jihad as a deed purely conducted for His sake. Then I will know that their efforts didn’t go in vain.”

Sadistic Torture and an Iron Will:

Bilal was detained at Za’tara checkpoint on 2 October 1997. He was coming home from Nablus on a motorbike. He was 17 at the time and soldiers took him to Huwara holding center; then sentenced him to 50 days in prison for driving without a license.

Bilal’s oldest brother Badran was martyred one day before Bilal’s release date. And so, the occupation authorities refused to release Bilal. Instead, they sent him to interrogation. He spent 38 days suffering torture, abuse and psychological torture.

A fellow prisoner describes Bilal’s ordeal, “I was transferred to the ‘bird cells’ in Jalama prison, where there were 8 traitors posing as resistance fighters. Then they (guards) brought in a large young man (Bilal). He was sad because he wasn’t released, and was instead transferred to interrogation. The interrogators told him that he was to be transferred to the holding cells with other prisoners. But the interrogators weren’t finished. They wanted to torment him.”

The prisoner continues, “On the day Bilal was taken to the ‘bird cells’ he saw a report on TV about his brother’s martyrdom and the demolition of the family house. I was shocked when I learned that the TV was showing a report on the family of a fellow prisoner. Imagine seeing your own mother crying on TV because your brother died and your house was demolished. May Allah fight the Zionists; they were sadistic in torturing him (Bilal).”

However, the prisoner concludes about Bilal by saying, “However his belief in Allah made him face them with patience and steadfastness. They failed in extracting any confession from him.”

Ongoing Suffering:

Only Bilal’s mother was allowed to visit him in prison. His father only visited him once after 8 years of imprisonment. He describes his son saying, “In my first visit to him, I felt bitter and sad. They stole his youth. He was 17 when he was detained and is now 25 years old. They took away his health. I didn’t expect to see him so thin. He couldn’t stand up for more than 5 minutes; whereas before his detention he was very strong and very healthy. He lost more than 35 kilograms in prison.”

The father continues, “More than a year and a half ago, the prisoners were on a hunger strike in Asqalan prison. The prison administration tried to break in the room where Bilal was held. He and other fellow prisoners stood up to them. The soldiers beat Bilal with thick stick and gun butts on his chest and arms. His arm was broken and he suffered broken ribs. In addition, the fired tear gas at them till Bilal passed away.”

Ahmad Siam, a lawyer in the Prisoners’ Supporters Association, visited Bilal recently. He says, “Bilal is being held in a place falsely called the Ramle prison clinic. The place has nothing to do with medicine and healthcare. Bilal is held in the place and started to suffer from back pain, breathing problems, pain in the chest, and fever. The prison doctor examined him and found that there was water in his lungs and that he had an irregular heartbeat. The doctor recommended that Bilal be transferred to a hospital. Instead they transferred him to the solitary confinement ward in Asqalan prison for 6 months, followed by 6 months in the Beir El-Saba solitary confinement ward.”

When Bilal’s situation became unbearable, the prison authority transferred him to a hospital where they were administering painkillers instead of treating the causes of the problems.

Bilal is hoping that Palestinian physician would be able to treat him. He saw a fellow prisoner “Abu Hedwan” admitted to an occupation hospital for an operation in the foot. Abu Hedwan died in the hospital!