The Prisoners Exhibition was held as part of the International Conference on Palestine Kuala Lumpur 2023 (ICPKL 2023), providing the participants with the life experience of a Palestinian prisoner.
The exhibition, which lasted from the 10th till the 12th of February at the Royale Chulan Seremban, aimed to highlight the inhuman conditions faced by Palestinian inmates in the occupying Israeli forces’ prisons.
The exhibition featured replicas of the Israeli apartheid wall, the ‘dark room’ administrative prison cell and solitary confinement. The cells, drawings on the walls, and graphic paintings were remarkably detailed.
The Israeli apartheid wall section displayed facts and statistics about the Palestinian prisoners and the unjust conditions they withstand.
The replica of the dark room provided the participants of the conference with a realistic experience of imprisonment under the Israeli occupation.
The actual 3 metre by 3.6 metre cell, devoid of sunlight or the slightest breeze of air, contains the dreams, hopes, longings, tears, and smiles of Palestinian inmates, truly reflecting the ruthlessness of the Israeli forces.
The last part of the exhibition was the solitary confinement segment, showcasing one of the cruellest instruments of torture used by Israeli forces against Palestinian captives.
Due to excessive isolation, many Palestinian detainees happen to suffer from mental illnesses, social isolation, anxiety, and depression. Some even forget the faces of their loved ones.
The Israel Prison Service holds thousands of inmates in isolation, including minors, for months and even years. Mohammed Gobran Khalil is the oldest Palestinian prisoner to have undergone isolation, having spent 15 years in solitary confinement.
The exhibitors sought to show the true face of the Israeli occupation and the human rights violations against Palestinian detainees.
The exhibition’s visitors were highly moved and touched, with many caught up in tears while standing in solitary confinement for mere seconds, unable to comprehend the fact that Palestinians spend years of their lives in such cells.
One of the cell walls was designated for visitors to inscribe words of solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners. Many powerful words, slogans, and wishes were written down in various languages, all of them expressions of love.
The Prisoners Exhibition was held by Friends of Palestine (FoP) in collaboration with PALM Strategic Initiatives Centre, Malaysian Women’s Coalition for Al-Quds and Palestine (MWCQP), and Cinta Gaza Malaysia, and it was showcased throughout all three days of ICPKL 2023.
