TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Palestinian-American teen from Florida who was held in an Israeli prison for over nine months has been released, his family said on Thanksgiving.
Mohamed Ibrahim, a U.S. citizen, was visiting family in the West Bank when he was accused of throwing stones at Israeli settlers. His uncle, Zeyad Kadur, said Israeli soldiers later arrested the teen, then 15, on February 15.
He turned 16 while still imprisoned, his family said.
Ibrahim’s family, as well as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other advocacy groups, had been pushing for his release for months. They said that not only was Ibrahim being held unjustly, but he was also being brutalized while imprisoned.
CAIR said they sent a sworn statement from Ibrahim to Congress that detailed some of the abuse, including being beaten with rifle butts and being denied adequate food or medical care.
On Thursday morning, an Instagram account dedicated to securing Ibrahim’s release posted a video of the teen reuniting with his father and announcing he had been freed from prison.
“Mohammed is free, thank you God,” the video caption said.
CAIR and CAIR-Florida later released a statement, welcoming his release and calling for accountability for Israeli authorities.
“Mohamed, a U.S. citizen from Florida, was abducted in the middle of the night, held without due process based on the false claim that he had thrown rocks at an Israeli vehicle, and subjected to repeated physical and psychological abuse in custody,” the statement said.