Raed was born in Silat al-Harthiyya, west of Jenin. He is the longest-held prisoner from Jenin governorate. He was arrested for the first time when he was 18 in 1984 and imprisoned for six months for raising the Palestinian flag on the electricity poles in Silat al-Harthiyya.

He lived underground for several years, especially since the beginning of the 1987 Intifada. The occupation arrested his mother and detained her for four months, and then several of his siblings, in order to pressure him to surrender. Finally, disguised occupation soldiers dressed as Palestinians seized him when he went to visit his family home to check on them on 28 August 1989. He was accused of belonging to the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine and carrying out resistance operations against soldiers and settlers. He was sentenced to two life sentences and 20 years behind bars.

Al-Sa’adi was supposed to obtain his freedom as part of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority in late 2013, but the occupation reneged on its commitment, releasing three batches of long-term prisoners but not the fourth, including 29 Palestinian prisoners jailed since before Oslo, including al-Sa’adi.

Life in Prison

During his years behind bars, he finished high school and obtained a bachelor’s degree and he is currently pursuing his master’s degree. He has been repeatedly denied family visits under the pretext of “security” violations, including one of his brothers who was forbidden visits for 12 consecutive years. He has lost a number of his family members while imprisoned, including his grandmother in 1999, his grandfather in 2001, his uncle Abdullah in 2008, his older brother Imad in 201 and his mother, Hajja Umm Imad in 2014. She was eagerly awaiting her son’s freedom until her last days. Several years ago, his father lost his sight and is no longer able to see.

Today, Raed is held in Ramon prison, after he was recently transferred from Gilboa prison. As a result of the lengthy torture he was subjected to and his continuous transfer from one prison to another, he suffers from several diseases, especially heart disease, blood pressure, intestinal disease and stomach ulcers, and he has had several surgeries inside occupation prisons.