A 27-year-old mentally ill Palestinian who was kept chained and locked in a room by his parents for two decades was rescued by the police.
However he has been returned to his family for want of institutions to care for the mentally ill in the West Bank.
The police referred Ahmad to the Military Medical Service Department where he underwent necessary tests. Later he was referred to the Public Prosecution which reported his case to the Beit Lahem Mental Institution which refused to take him in claiming that it did not deal with such cases.
In the absence of institutions to accommodate Ahmad in the West Bank, the police later handed him over to his family after his father signed a pledge not to chain or ill-treat him again.
Ezat Malouh, who heads the Qalqilya Social Affairs Department, told Gulf News that the department was notified about Selmi's case and his staff had accompanied the police during the raid. "It was a sad scene. The man was treated like an animal," he said. "There is not even a single institution in the West Bank to accept mentally ill above the age group of 16 years," he added.
He said Ahmad's name was registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs for a long time and his family received 1,800 shekels (Dh1,742) every three months in financial support but the aid was recently reduced to 1,000 shekels. He said Ahmad is covered by medical insurance. "The family has not been doing its duty towards their son; but on the contrary they have been treating him like an animal," he said.
