Randa Adnan, wife of 34-year-old Khader Adnan, a Palestinian prisoner in who has been on a hunger strike for 59 days, called on Egyptian officials to intervene for his release in light of his deteriorating health. "Our hope now lies in Egypt for Khader's release,” said Randa Adnan on Tuesday. “There is talk of Egyptian efforts being made, which I hope is true as Egypt was instrumental in the last prisoner swap deal.” She denied rumors that her husband was in a coma saying, "My husband's health is deteriorating, but thank God he is still conscious." “The lawyer visited him last night and told us how he is doing,” she said. “When she entered, Khader was lying down and didn't reply to her, but after a while he sat up and began to talk with her. "Last week was the last time I visited him. A number of human rights activists helped us obtain permits to visit him, as making it difficult for us to obtain permission to visit people in jail is part of the punishment imposed on us by the Israeli regime," she added. When asked about her husband's arrest, Randa explained, "Our house in Araba Town was surrounded at dawn by Israeli special forces for a period of 45 minutes before they stormed into the house, searched it and arrested my husband." She said her husband was not involved in any military activity and is not affiliated with a specific political faction; he was only a member of the Palestinian national reconciliation committee. She explained that her husband began his hunger strike, the longest hunger strike in the history of the Palestinian prisoners' movement, after he was abused and beaten during the arrest and interrogation process. He continued the strike after an administrative detention order was issued against him.
