Dana Joudeh, a 35-year-old Palestinian woman, gave birth to her daughter inside Israel’s Damon Prison after being arrested while three months pregnant and held for more than six months without charge or trial. Joudeh was detained at her home near Nablus on 1 March and was subsequently placed under administrative detention, an Israeli system allowing Palestinians to be imprisoned without criminal charges or a trial, with orders that can be renewed.
Joudeh was reportedly five months pregnant when she was placed under the six-month detention order. Palestinian prisoner organisations say she was denied adequate healthcare, nutrition and medical treatment throughout her pregnancy. She ultimately gave birth on 14 September inside the prison, before being released the following day with her newborn and transferred to a hospital in Ramallah.
The Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs accused Israeli authorities of leaving Joudeh to endure her pregnancy without adequate medical care and described forcing her to give birth inside prison as an additional violation of international law.
Her case has also raised concerns over other pregnant Palestinian women still held in Israeli custody. Palestinian prisoner groups have reported inadequate prenatal care, poor nutrition and difficult detention conditions for pregnant detainees, including Manar Karaja and Baraa Abu Khadija.
In June, the Palestinian Prisoners' Media Office reported that women detained in Damon prison had faced physical abuse and torture, including being forced to lie on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs before being beaten.
