The long overdue release of Palestinian aid worker and prisoner of conscience, Mohammed al-Halabi, as part of the prisoner-hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, ends his agonising ordeal and a flagrant injustice.
Al-Halabi, the former Gaza Director of Humanitarian Aid and Development organisation World Vision, was arrested by the Israeli security agency at the Erez crossing between Israel and occupied Gaza on 15 June 2016. He was interrogated without a lawyer, tortured, tried in secret hearings and convicted after a grossly unfair trial based on undisclosed evidence that he had allegedly diverted funds to Hamas. In August 2022, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Beersheba District Court.
Al-Halabi was managing an Australian aid program and was cleared of any wrongdoing by World Vision and the Australian Government.
Upon his release on 1 February 2025, al-Halabi showed visible signs of torture and starvation, including an alarming loss of weight.
Speaking to Amnesty International after his release and return to his severely damaged home in Gaza City, al-Halabi said: “They [Israeli authorities] tortured me but never broke my spirit. I maintain my innocence of any of the charges levelled against me and I remain adamant to prove that in court even after my release.”
He described how after 7 October 2023 he was transferred to Nafha prison in southern Israel where prisoners’ radios were confiscated, and most lawyer visits, were denied, as was any contact with family members or independent monitors. Throughout the 15 months of conflict, he was only able to receive scraps of news about his loved ones in Gaza on the one occasion he was able to meet with his lawyer.
“That was the worst: not knowing whether my wife and children are alive, not knowing how they were coping? Have they been displaced? Have they been bombed? Will I ever see them again? That was even worse than the starvation and torture that we were subjected to [in prison].”
Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia’s Occupied Palestinian Territory Spokesperson says:
“The release of Mohammad al-Halabi is tragically overdue. His unlawful imprisonment is yet another example of the systemic injustices Palestinians face in Israeli courts—a brutal consequence of Israel’s dehumanising occupation and apartheid system.
“Al-Halabi, a dedicated humanitarian aid worker, should never have been behind bars. His case is a reminder of the urgent need for fair trials and due process for Palestinians subjected to Israel’s apartheid system.”
Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia’s Occupied Palestinian Territory Spokesperson
“Al-Halabi, a dedicated humanitarian aid worker, should never have been behind bars. His case is a reminder of the urgent need for fair trials and due process for Palestinians subjected to Israel’s apartheid system.
“While Amnesty International Australia welcomes his release, justice demands accountability. Those responsible for his wrongful detention, and torture both during his interrogation and while in detention, must be independently investigated and held to account. The targeting of humanitarian workers must end.”
Over a million Palestinians have been arrested since the occupation of Palestinian Territory began. Of this, over 10,000 Palestinians imprisoned, 3,000 without trial or charge. Hundreds of children are also tried in military courts as adults and indefinitely detained. Palestinians in detention are tortured and sometimes killed.
Under international law, torture and other ill-treatment committed against protected persons in an occupied territory is a war crime. The detention of protected persons outside the occupied territory, as is the case of Palestinian prisoners from the OPT held in Israel, is also a violation of international humanitarian law as it amounts to forcible transfer. Israel’s use of administrative detention of Palestinians has amounted to violations of international law.
“Israeli authorities must end their use of administrative detention that has led to several cases of inhuman and degrading treatment and torture”, says Mohamed Duar.
“Israel’s persecution of aid workers and effective criminalisation of adequate provision of aid, seen with the banning of UNRWA,is a flagrant violation of international law. Those responsible must face justice.
“Humanitarians, civilians, medical workers and journalists are not and should never be targets.”
Al-Halabi also told Amnesty International that he is keen to resume his humanitarian work:
“The need for humanitarian relief, the type of work I used to do before my arrest, is greater than ever. In previous wars, we used to divide damaged buildings into fully and partially destroyed, but when I went back to Jabalia refugee camp, [in North Gaza governorate] I found out that the category ‘partially destroyed’ is virtually nonexistent. Almost every building is flattened.”
Throughout the proceedings against him, the Israeli prosecution failed to substantiate allegations that al-Halabi was guilty of diverting funds to Hamas and the charges against him relied on “secret” evidence and a coerced statement by a prisoner informant. Despite enormous pressure, al-Halabi repeatedly refused to enter in any plea bargain which would have given him a significantly reduced sentence in exchange for “confessing” to charges that he vehemently denied.
Al-Halabi expressed his gratitude for the public support he has received from all over the world since his arrest: “Even during my darkest hours, I knew that many people believed in my innocence, that supporters of justice were campaigning for my release. Their solidarity will always be engraved in my heart.”
Background
On 30 August 2022, Mohammed al-Halabi was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Beersheba District Court. He filed an appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court, acting as the High Court of Appeals, against his conviction and the appeal remained pending until his release on 1 February during the prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. Amnesty International designated him a prisoner of conscience in May 2023 concluding that Israeli authorities were targeting him to intimidate other human rights defenders and to shrink the space of humanitarian work in Gaza at the time.
Mohammed al-Halabi was released in the fourth batch of a prisoner-hostage swap between Israel and Hamas. Amnesty International also reiterates its call on Hamas and other armed groups to immediately and unconditionally release all civilians held hostage in Gaza and for Israel to free all arbitrarily detained Palestinians, including those who have been forcibly disappeared or held incommunicado.
