Palestinians abused in Israeli facility: Rights group
Jerusalem: Israeli human rights groups have alleged abuse of Palestinians in Israel with backing of the state, which include violations like cruel detention conditions in sealed cells, disgraceful hygienic conditions and continuous cuffing of detainees' hands.
The B'Tselem organisation and Hamoked Center for the Defence of the Individual report, based on the testimonies of 121 detainees held in Petah Tikva detention facility of Shin Bet, also claim that the inhuman treatment of the Palestinian detainees has the backing of the state.
The other ways of interrogation includes sleep deprivation, and other methods that harm the detainees physically and mentally.
The Human Rights Groups noted that complaints on the matter have led to no criminal investigations to which the state has reportedly responded by saying that the interrogations were being supervised, and that the court had rejected similar claims in the past. The violations allegedly begin from the moment of the arrest and continue until the detainees transfer from the facility.
As per the report, nine per cent of the witnesses related that the interrogators used physical violence against them in the interrogation room.
"The use of any one of these means, certainly their combined use, constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and in some instances, torture. All are strictly forbidden under international law and Israeli law," the organisations stressed in their report.
Thirteen of the 121 detainees reported of sleep deprivation which lasted more than 24 hours, thirty six percent of the detainees said they were humiliated and cursed by their investigators, 56 percent reported of threats, and 9 percent said they were treated violently, it said.
Many of the detainees reported that the interrogators used family members as a means of pressure - thirty six percent of the witnesses mentioned curses, threats, or acts of extortion regarding family members.
In one case, a 63-year-old widow was held in the facility so that members of her family could see her suffering while under detention, the report claims.
Two days later, the woman was released without any charges brought against her, it says. Most of the detention cells are underground, or were perceived thus by the witnesses, while the interrogation rooms, by contrast, are above ground and have windows enabling the detainee to know if it is day or night, it further added.
Those interviewed stated that an electric bulb lights the cell 24 hours a day, and the detainee is unable to change its intensity or turn it off.
This creates severe distress and causes eye pain, headaches, and vision problems, the Human Rights Groups said.
The report's authors also reveal harsh hygiene conditions saying, "One-person cells had a squat toilet that reeked, the mattresses and blankets were filthy, the detainees were not given the means to clean the cell, except in isolated cases and following insistent demand".
"35 per cent of the detainees were not provided a change of clothes for long periods and, in some cases, even during their entire stay in the facility. 27 per cent of the witnesses were not allowed to shower", they alleged.
B'Tselem and Hamoked have no doubt that "the handling and treatment of the detainees, as revealed in the report, are consistent with the philosophy of interrogation that seeks to break the detainees by causing shock and fear, detaching the detainees from things to which they are normally accustomed, and by severely depriving them of sensory stimuli, movement, and human contact".
Other components of this philosophy are physical weakness by means of sleep deprivation, reduction in food intake, exposure to cold and heat, and pain, the primary source of the pain being forced prolonged sitting in rigid bodily positions, the report argued.
"This philosophy is described in CIA interrogation manuals of the 1960s and 1980s, which were used to guide interrogators in tyrannical regimes in Latin America.
The result of the use of these methods, as stated in the manuals, is psychological regression and a detainee who becomes putty in the hands of the interrogator," it added.
The organisations also claimed that the treatment of the Palestinian detainees, as described in the report, receives the backing of the Israeli State.
Since 2001, Palestinians interrogated by Israel Security Authorities agents have filed 645 complaints to the Ministry of Justice regarding the manner in which they were interrogated, but not one of the complaints led to a criminal investigation against the interrogator.
"The State of Israel attempts to justify the severe infringement of the detainee's rights by claiming the actions are necessary to thwart serious acts of terrorism. This claim does not warrant violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment," the report states.
"Furthermore, Israel's attempts to divert the public debate to what it refers to as the 'ticking-bomb dilemma' is artificial," the organisations say, explaining that "most of the Palestinians who gave testimonies for the purpose of the report were not suspected of serious offenses, in comparison to the scale of offenses allegedly committed by Palestinians who are brought before military courts in the occupied territories".
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