Five human-rights organizations on Sunday announced they have filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against Public Security Minister Amir Ohana’s decision not to vaccinate prisoners, contrary to the Health Ministry's and attorney-general’s directive.
The petition, submitted late Friday but announced on Sunday, was filed on behalf of Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI) and four other groups represented by lawyers Anne Suciu and Tamir Blank.
In the petition, the organizations demand that the Israel Prison Service (IPS), which is under Ohana’s ministerial control, vaccinate the entire prisoner population according to the vaccination priorities set by the Health Ministry.
Previously, the Health Ministry directed that all prisoners be vaccinated, with an initial emphasis on prisoners aged 60 and over and those in high-risk groups.
Moreover, the petition demands that the IPS prioritize the vaccination of prisoners over prison staff.
On Friday, Deputy Attorney-General Amit Marari told Ohana his decision not to vaccinate prisoners “was given without authority and thus cannot stand.”
It would be difficult to defend against any future petition, such as the one which has now been filed, she said in a formal letter.
In response, Ohana said he viewed himself as being within his authority and that the Attorney-General’s Office had no business intervening.
He also taunted Marari, saying she and the government’s lawyers could run in the current elections if they wanted to decide policy.
The petition was accompanied by a medical opinion from the Israel Medical Association.
“Prisoners must be treated as a captive population,” the IMA said. “In the context of COVID-19, this is considered an at-risk population, both due to preexisting health issues and to the overcrowded conditions that increase the risk of infection and mortality.”
“The State of Israel has an ethical obligation to offer the vaccines to the prisoner population,” it said.
“According to professional sources, prisoners are an at-risk population, and action must be taken to vaccinate them in parallel with the at-risk populations at large,” the petition states.
PHRI official Anat Litvin said: “The responsibility for prisoners' health needs to be handled by experts in that field. The withholding of vaccinations until now only makes this that much clearer.”
The court has not yet set a date for a hearing.