Success stories of Palestinian achievers from all over the world

Ismail al-Shamali (Abu Muhammad

Personal Info

  • Country of residence: Palestine
  • Gender: Male
  • Born in: 1953
  • Age: 69
  • Curriculum vitae :

Information

Ismail al-Shamali (Abu Muhammad; 1953 – 24 December 2020[][ was a Palestinian writer and novelist, who had been arrested by Syrian intelligence in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison, where he was transferred between a number of Syrian prisons until his death in Sweida Central Prison, and is one of the oldest political prisoners in Syrian prisons.

 

Life

  • Born in Khan Younis in 1953, Ismail Ahmed Ibrahim al-Shamali is a Palestinian refugee in Syria who lived in Daraa governorate.  Syrian intelligence arrested him in 1995 on the Syrian border, and the Syrian Supreme State Security Court sentenced him to life in prison for "possessing confidential papers and information that must be kept secret for the safety of the state," where he spent 21 years in Damascus' security branches, then 5 years in Daraa Central Prison, and was transferred between Sednaya Prison and Adra Prison until he was transferred to Sweida Central Prison. [ Sources state that he is one of the oldest political prisoners in Syrian prisons.
  • According to Al-Quds al-Arabi, "the State Security Court had previously sentenced al-Shamali to life imprisonment for writing a book about Saddam Hussein and Hafez al-Assad, and for possessing documents harmful to state security."  According to Orient News, "The Palestinian writer was subjected to torture significantly during his detention, especially in the notorious Sednaya military prison, and spent four years in a solitary confinement cell in that prison, as well as being denied a visit for a full ten years, and with the beginning of the Syrian revolution in June 2011, he moved to Adra prison in rural Damascus, and then he was also transferred to Sweida Central Prison, where he died."

 

Death

  • According to the Sweida Central Prison administration, Ismail died in prison on December 24, 2020, due to a heart attack. But his parents said he died of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).  The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that he died of medical negligence inside Sweida Central Prison, and has information confirming this. 
  • His body was laid to rest in the city of Tafas (west of Daraa) on December 25, 2020, corresponding to 10 Jumada al-Awwal 1442 AH at the age of 67.

 

Achievements and Awards

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