He is denied basic medical care for diabetes and has lost 30 pounds in the two months since his arrest by immigration officers, his lawyers said.
Salah Sarsoura Palestinian-born legal permanent resident of the United States, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in April. His lawyers say he is being held on unsubstantiated claims that he represents a foreign policy threat, but they believe he was actually targeted for speaking out against Israel and being convicted as a minor by Israeli military courts.
He has no criminal record in the United States, where he has lived for more than 30 years.
Sarsour suffers from Type 2 diabetes, and his blood sugar levels are not regularly checked, putting him at risk for organ failure or death if left untreated, his lawyers told a federal judge on Monday. Sarsour is being held in an Indiana County jail while his immigration case is still pending.
“We had the opportunity to make a direct and urgent appeal to the court regarding the necessity of Salah’s release, including the ability to report that he lost 30 pounds while in detention,” Sarsour’s lawyer, Luna Droubi, said in a press release. He added: “The judge raised questions about the medical care Salah receives, and we will continue to press this case.”
Officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Court documents filed by attorneys representing the Department of Homeland Security and ICE appear to be locked in online federal court filings, so any legal response to the allegations raised by Sarsour’s lawyers was not immediately viewable.
investigation KFF Health News and the Associated Press found that hundreds of detainees in at least 33 states have filed federal lawsuits with similar claims. Medical negligence. These lawsuits include other detainees who say they were denied medication or had treatment delayed due to illnesses including cancer, high blood pressure, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, HIV, diabetes, infections, depression, and others.
Sarsour’s lawyers provided more details about the conditions of his detention in a letter he sent late last month to US District Judge James Patrick Hanlon. They are asking the judge to release Sarsour while his case moves forward.
“Mr. Sarsour’s health continues to deteriorate,” they wrote. “Although he recently developed severe abdominal pain, prison officials told him that they could not help him and that he had to buy his own medicine. His blood sugar levels were not being checked on a regular basis.”
His lawyers said Sarsour was also being tortured by prison guards who denied him access to the Qur’an and repeatedly interrupted him when he tried to pray according to his Islamic faith. His lawyers said that when Sarsour requested a proper diet to stabilize his blood sugar levels, he was asked to buy grilled pork rinds from the complex, even though the food violated his religious beliefs and dietary restrictions.
Karim Sarsour, Salah’s son, said: “A little more than two months ago, my father used to start his day as usual by checking on my grandmother and heading to work.” “We are now fighting not only for my father’s legal right to be here, but also for his health — and the basic due process guaranteed by his constitutional rights to speak out about injustice.”
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Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.