Only last week, FIFA President Sepp Blatter wrote the Israeli Football Association a letter. It was Mahmud Sabri about the imprisoned football player. Today, he is taken to a hospital, in July, he is finally free.

It was a hard way of the Mahmud Sabri has chosen. Go he wanted him to the end, if it had to be until his death. In June 2009, the Israeli army has imprisoned Palestinian internationals today 25, former. He was accused to be a member of the Islamic Jihad, he should have planned bombings against Israel. He had always rejected the accusation. Three years it has held him without any negotiations, without a trial. Sabri was a special case in comparison to many other prisoners. He belonged to the category of 'unlawful combatant', 'illegitimate combatants'. An Israeli law allows simply to hold these people indefinitely.

Release or death

Over three months ago, Sabri began to take his fate even in the hand. He started a hunger strike, like many other inmates. Stop he just wanted them when Israel finally free could be him, or allows him at least an ordinary process. The other alternative was death for him. At the end, he weighed 30 kg, his condition was life-threatening. Yesterday it was finally so far: Sabri ended his strike, ate a piece of chocolate as evidence. Today he is to be introduced in a hospital, on 10 July followed by the final release. His dismissal ended one of the longest hunger strike of a Palestinian in an Israeli prison probably.

Only last week called Jibril Rajoub, President of the Palestinian Football Association (PFA), 2013 to evade the hosting of the under-21 European Championships Israel. In a letter to UEFA President Michel Platini he expressed his concern to health of Sarsaks and another jailed player.

Reason for now sudden release of football player is unquestionably the switching of FIFA President Sepp Blatter. In a letter to the Israeli Football Association he called a reasonable process for jailed players. He further pleaded that the player is granted to physical integrity. But other celebrities like the former Manchester United player Eric Cantona, or the filmmaker Ken Loach played an important role. They collected signatures and were to draw attention to the necessary media whirl to the public on the situation.

Pressure on Israel by pages of UEFA

Yesterday, the Israeli Football Association published a letter. Is the President announced UEFA that 2013 will U-21 European Championships in Israel as announced will take place, "but not without a certain amount of pressure on us to put" the Association in the letter writes.

According to Israel, the only prisoner in the category 'illegitimate combatants' should have been currently Sabri. Whether this information is true or not: so far in any case, Sabri was the first prisoner, who has experienced a such international attention and assistance by a hunger strike. While the other prisoners long before it ended the hunger strike, he not just stopped. At the end he has forced not only his release, he has drawn media attention to Israeli prisons. Because there, thousands of Palestinian prisoners needlessly arrested part, so far in vain waiting for a trial.