Woman Gives Birth To Twins After Having Husband's Sperm Smuggled From Prison

For a Palestinian woman, giving birth to her husband’s babies included an elaborate and daring plan of smuggling his sperm from an Israeli prison. She and her jailed husband took all the measures to ensure that no confusion arose over the paternity of their twin babies.

Rasmeya Hmeid, 31, revealed the complicated process of getting pregnant while speaking with the Daily Telegraph in an interview published Tuesday.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been allowed to visit her imprisoned husband, Nahed Hmeid. But due to coronavirus restrictions, Rasmeya has not been able to meet her husband since her last visit in 2020.

Nahed has been serving time in prison since 2007. He was jailed for being a part of a rocket fire incident in Gaza and for deploying roadside bombs against security forces. While serving his 20-year sentence, Nahed became a father to twin boys, after smuggling his sperm from jail to his wife.

“My husband has the right to be a father and to make a family,” Rasmeya said.

The woman, who gave birth on Dec. 4, said her husband prepared the sample in the bathroom of his cell. Waiting outside at the time were four witnesses, standing with the very purpose of confirming that it was Nahed’s sperm that finally made it to the sterile container.

“I am 100 percent sure that it was my husband’s sperm,” Rasmeya said.

As she spoke from her home in Gaza, Rasmeya revealed that there was a unique identification mark that she and her husband agreed upon.

“There was a kind of an agreed-upon mark which no one knew about except me and my husband; that is why I am very sure they were his sperm,” she said.

The smuggled sperm was then sent to Gaza and taken to a fertility clinic, according to the Times of Israel. Rasmeya did not reveal the details of how they managed to hide the sperm as it left the Israeli prison.

“I can’t reveal the secret,” she said, adding: “All I can say is that it was a very complicated process.”

Following the birth of her twin boys earlier this month, Rasmeya named them Hamam and Hani.

Nahed, who is in the latter half of his prison sentence, said he is excited by the prospect of eventually getting to meet his sons.

The Israel Prisons Service released a statement in response to the incident. “It is important to emphasize that the IPS has never been presented with scientific evidence that sperm-smuggling has resulted in a baby being born, and the same is true of this claim,” the statement said.

“IPS takes these incidents seriously, and uses all means available to prosecute prisoners who are suspected of attempted smuggling,” the statement added. “These include ordering police investigations, isolation, and denial of family visitations and other benefits.”