An Israeli court has punished a Palestinian prisoner whose semen was smuggled from jail.

Abdul Karim Rimawi was fined about $1,499 Thursday and deprived of family visits for two months, according to a statement by the Palestinian Prisoner Club Assn.

The emailed statement read, “The punishment of Rimawi is the first such kind of punishment in the history of courts.”

Rimawi, who has served 12 years of his 25-year sentence, helped smuggle his semen from jail two years ago. Eight months ago, his wife gave birth to a boy.


Clandestine in-vitro fertilization is viewed as the latest form of resistance by Palestinians. The Razan Medical Centre for Infertility & IVF in Nablus said in September 2013 that 26 wives of prisoners had conceived at the center using smuggled sperm.

Israel says it will not grant legal status to children conceived through in-vitro fertilization involving a prison donor. None of the children, however, has reached 16 years of age, when they would qualify for identification cards.

Twitter: @amijiwaji


Aamera.Jiwaji@latimes.com