Detainee Tasneem Odeh: Arrested for old Facebook posts and held in cruel conditions

July 27, 2025

A lawyer from the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, reported, following a visit to Damoun Prison, that Israeli occupation forces arrested 22-year-old Tasneem Barakat Odeh from Jerusalem on December 12, 2024. Tasneem was while she was driving her private car to transport students. It is worth noting that she is in her final year at the Faculty of Law at Al-Quds University.

She was taken from outside a school without any explanation. Officers stormed her car, confiscating her phone and iPad. She was then transferred to the Moscobiya Interrogation Center, and held for 14 days under the pretext of old Facebook posts from 2022 in which she mourned her father. During this period, she was subjected to daily interrogations lasting between six and seven hours, during which she was repeatedly insulted and cursed.

She was moved to Hasharon Prison after interrogation, where she spent one night in extremely difficult conditions, including a full strip search. She was later transferred to Damon Prison.

Tasneem pointed out: “During one of my court sessions at the Jerusalem Magistrate Court, I was beaten on the head and face by a prison guard. I was also held in the detainees’ transport vehicle (Bosta) for more than two hours with the engine and air conditioning turned off, which caused me to nearly lose consciousness due to suffocation.”

She further noted that prison forces had recently raided the women's section using police dogs and tear gas. The cells were thoroughly searched, and the female detainees were subjected to collective punishment for trivial and unreasonable reasons, such as old writings on the walls. Among the punishments was a seven-day ban on going out to the prison yard.

In addition, Tasneem highlighted that the cells in Damon Prison are fully sealed, with no ventilation, despite the severe overcrowding and high temperatures. A total of 43 female detainees are currently being held there.