The family of a Palestinian who died Tuesday at a Be’er Sheva hospital says the cause of death was a heart attack following a beating by prison guards. The Israel Prison Service denies the allegation.

The prisoner was Jihad Atwil, 47, of East Jerusalem. He was convicted of traffic violations and had served a three-month sentence at Be’er Sheva Prison. Ten days ago he was released and taken straight to Soroka Medical Center when he complained of feeling ill.

According to a statement by his family and the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, prison guards beat Atwil and sprayed him in the face with tear gas during a clash. He lost consciousness, suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma before dying at the hospital.

The Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs said the case proves the brutality of Israeli prison guards when dealing with Palestinians. The ministry’s director general, General Ziyad Abu Ein, called for an inquiry independent of the prison service.

Atwil, who was married and the father of five, lived in East Jerusalem’s Ras el-Amud neighborhood. His family, who said he had no history of illness, refused to accept the prison service’s explanation that he died of natural causes and asked for an autopsy.

Atwil’s funeral took place Tuesday afternoon, and it was not immediately clear if an autopsy had taken place.

According to the Israel Prison Service, “The prisoner was not involved in any unusual incident in prison before he was taken to the hospital for what to the best of our knowledge the doctors defined as a heart attack. The prisoner completed his sentence 10 days ago and was released according to the law. Accordingly, we reject any other claim regarding the reasons for his death.”