torture in israeli jails: the legacy of totalitarian regimes

7/28/2019 Torture in Israeli Jails: The Legacy of Totalitarian Regimes

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The Legacy o f To ta l i ta r ia n Regi mes

Torturei n I s r ae l i J a i l s

A report on torture in Israeli jails based on interviewswith former Palestinian prisoners and detainees

April 2013


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Introduction

Israel is considered by both InternationalHuman Rights organisations and media

polls as one of the worst countries

regarding human rights abuses, due to its

dreadful record of human rights violations.

Amnesty International and Middle East

Monitor issued various reports in which

they expressed concerns about the Israels

practices. A BBC World Service poll in

2007 revealed that Israel is perceived by

the majority of people as top country for

and a more recent public poll carried out

in Norway and Germany circumscribed

Israel as a hostile entity. This negative

image of Israel is caused by its frequent

violations of international law since its

forced establishment in 1948.

Since the occupation of Palestine in 1948,

more than 800,000 Palestinians have

been imprisoned. From 1967 onwards,

over 700,000 Palestinians, %20 of the

population of the occupied West Bank

and Gaza Strip have been detained. This

number represents approximately %40

of the total male Palestinian population

in the Occupied Territories. Internationallaw sets the foundation for humane and

fair treatment of prisoners, assuring that

prisoners are not humiliated or tortured.

Several countries, including Israel, deny

these laws and regulations and practice

different forms of humiliation and torture.

Palestinian prisoners and detainees are

exposed to unfair trials, administrative

deprived of seeing their families. In

addition, physical and psychological torture

is exerted by Israeli security services. This

report reveals the different methods used by

Israeli forces to torture Palestinian political

prisoners and is based on interviews with

former Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The hooded prisoner is made to sit down with their

arms tied to the back of a chair with their legs streched

out infront of them. This induces chronic back andshoulder pain.

Shabh is a stress position where prisoners are made

to sit on a small chair with their head hooded and

hands tied behind their back. This position induces a

loss of sight, incredible pain and disorientation

Torture in Israeli Jails

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Palestinian Prisoners:A political issue

Detention and imprisonment became oneof the tools for Israeli forces to oppress the

Palestinian people calling for freedom and

self-determination. This led to never-ending

arrests campaigns that imprisoned hundreds

of thousands Palestinians over the past seven

decades. According to Addameer Detention

Report there were 4,812 Palestinian political

prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention

centres in February 2013, including 178

administrative detainees, 12 women and219 children (31 under the age of 16).

UFree Network, established to defend the

rights of Palestinian prisoners and detainees,

mentioned in previous reports that there are

no juvenile prisons for Palestinians. As a

result, children often serve their sentences

in the same cells as adults. More than 6,000

Palestinian children have been detained

since 2000. In February 2013 there were

219 Palestinian prisoners and detaineesunder 18, more than %10 of them being

under the age of 16. A large number of


accused of executing acts of terrorism or

participating in such acts. However, those

prisoners were calling for freedom and

self-determination, but they did not select

terrorism as the appropriate strategy.

Living conditions in prisonsIn addition to the arbitrary practice of

administrative detention, the restrictions

on family visits and the practice of torture,


denied access to basic health services. Israeli

authorities refuse to provide the needed

medications to prisoners suffering varioushealth problems. On different occasions,

the prison authorities were reported to give

prisoners with chronic health disease solely

pain killers.

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz,

a report issued by the Justice Ministrys Public

overcrowding, inadequate access to

medical care, poor hygienic conditions,

and excessive punitive measures in most

Israeli facilities. In a recent report by the

Independent Commission for Human Rights,

the organisation stated that they are gravely

concerned over the extreme deterioration of

the Palestinian prisoners conditions in the

Israeli prisons and detention centres


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Binding the detainee in a painful position, degradation,

and threats

Israel uses both psychical and psychologicaltorture methods while interrogating

Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Recently, Arafat Shalsh Jaradat, 30, has been

murdered by Israeli intelligence (Mossad)

while he was under extreme torture in

Majdo prison facility. Jaradat has died due

to a heart attack because of heavy beating.

The torture methods and its duration vary

from one detainee to another, but their

overall goal is to intimidate prisoners andseek for information that, in many cases,

does not exist. This report reveals the main

methods used by Israeli forces to torture

Palestinian political prisoners.

The methods of torture were obtained by

UFree through a series of interviews with

former Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

For the sake of clarity, the methods are

divided into two categories: physical and

psychological methods. However, many ofthe methods used are a combination of both

physical and psychological torture.

Physical Methods

1. Repeatedly beating or kicking the prisoner

in different parts of the body (head, hands,

face, abdomen, back, genitalia), using

hands and/or metal tools. Sometimes the

prisoners hands were being tied to the

wall or to metal bars during the beatings.

Former prisoners also reported to have

been beaten deliberately on wounds and

injuries caused earlier.2. Tying the prisoners hands and/or legs

together for a long period of time. Former

prisoners reported to have been tied to

the ceiling through their hands and legs.

Others have been tied and left in the rain/

cold weather for a long period of time.

3 . Shaking prisoners violently. This is being

done by investigators who change from

time to time.

The Prisoner is tied to restraints in the wall and is

made to stand for long periods of time. It is reported

by ex prisoners that they were severely beaten whilstin this position.

Torture in Israeli Jails: Methods used


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4. Forcing the prisoner to sit on a small

chair (chairs for kindergarten kids) for

long hours and sometimes days. This is

associated with covering the head with

a dirty plastic/clothing bag. While the

prisoner is in this position he is exposedto very loud music and deprived from

sleeping.

5. Forcing the prisoner to remain standing

for a long period of time.

6. Forcing the prisoner to sleep on the

times. Former prisoners also reported to

have been forced to sleep whilst sitting on

7. Blindfolding a prisoner and dragging him/

her on the stairs.

8. Spraying gas in the face of a prisoner and

using electric shocks against them.

9. Pulling out the hair of the prisoner.

10. Cold water being poured on the prisonerwhilst asleep.

11. Suffocating prisoner by putting his head

in the water and telling him that he will

be drowned to death.

Shabh is a stress position where prisoners are made

to sit on a small chair with their head hooded and

hands tied behind their back. This position induces a

loss of sight, incredible pain and disorientation

Another stress position in which the prisoner is

hooded and made to lean against a wall this induces

dizziness and pain in the lower limbs.


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Psychological Methods

1. Placing the prisoner on a chair with his

head covered whilst meanwhile drops of

water hit the head regularly.

2. Depriving the prisoner from food for

a long period of time or providing the

prisoner old or spoiled food.

3. Exposing the prisoner to loud music for a

long period of time.

4. Using military and policy dogs to frighten

the prisoners. Investigators threaten

prisoners the dogs will be unleashed and

will attack the prisoner.5. Threatening the prisoner will be sexually

abused. Former prisoners reported to

have been forced to be nearly naked.

6. Speaking negatively about the prisoners

family members and/or threatening the

prisoner that their family members will

be caused harm. Some former prisoners

reported that they were threatened that

their wife would be sexually abused.

7. Depriving the prisoner from defecating or

urinating for a long period of time. Other

former prisoners reported being forced

to defecate or urinate in front of prison

inmates.

8. Telling the prisoner, wrongfully, that his

family will visit him today. Other former

prisoners were, wrongfully, informed

that one or more family members passed

away.9. Spitting in the prisoners face.

10. Forcing the prisoner to verbally abuse

his/her religious and national symbols.

11. Jailing some of the relative of the prisoner

and torturing them in front of the prisoner.

Pouring hot water over the head: Very hot water is

poured over the prisoners head in order to scald it.


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Legal Background

The treatment of Palestinian politicalprisoners and detainees is a violation of

Articles 49 ,32 and 76 of the Fourth Geneva

Convention relating to the Protection of

Civilian Persons in Time of War. The use of

torture methods is not in line with Article

5 of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights (1948). According to Conor Foley

(University of Essex) and the Human Rights

Centre, torture is also prohibited in the

International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (1966), the European Convention

on Human Rights (1950), the American

Convention on Human Rights (1978) and

the African Charter on Human and Peoples

Rights (1981).

Additionally, the UN Convention Against

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or

Degrading Treatment or Punishment

(1984), the European Convention for the

Prevention of Torture and Inhuman andDegrading Treatment or Punishment (1987),

the Inter-American Convention to Prevent

and Punish Torture (1985) reject the use of

torture methods.


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Palestinians prisoners and detainees face the

arbitrary practice of administrative detention,restrictions on family visits, the denial of

medical care and the practice of torture.

This report revealed the most frequently

mentioned methods of torture practiced by

Israeli forces against Palestinian prisoners

and detainees. The documented methods

were obtained through interviewing former

Palestinian prisoners and detainees and

violate international law. The international

community must meet its legal obligationby putting pressure on Israel to abide by

international law and the treaties cited

above. UFree therefore recommends the

following:

1-Freezing the EU-Israeli relations until the

latter abides by international law.2-United Nations and its Agencies must

expose Israeli crimes and act to save

the lives of Palestinian prisoners. Press

releases and condemnations are not

adequate any more, freezing Israeli

participation in the UN meetings are a

step in the right direction.

3-Palestinian Authority should freeze its

security contacts with Israel and take

action to stop its human rights violations.4-Civil society organisations must engage

in exposing the atrocities perpetrated

by Israel. The BDS campaign can be the

cornerstone of any steps in this direction.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Documented and compiled by UFree

Ufree-p.net

Media Centre

UFree Network is an independent European-wide human rights network Set

up to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees

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