alkathiri
As-Shafaa'i(Brother)
Assalamualaikum warahmatullah
By Karima Saifullah
Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity."
Torture doesn’t only ruin the victim’s life, but also shake the whole community. It’s therefore an abomination that, although strictly prohibited by international law, torture is practiced in more than half of the world’s countries.
The Palestinians’ suffering at the hands of the Israelis is worse than in any other part of the world. Recent reports by human rights groups and legal experts document widespread, systematic violation of international laws at Israeli detention centers, where several prisoners are children under the age of 18, most of whom are subjected to torture, harsh interrogation tactics, physical beatings, deplorable living conditions and no access to fair trial.
A new report by two Israeli human right groups, released on Sunday, accused the Israeli Security Agency of routinely abusing Palestinian detainees, saying that in some cases the ill-treatment amounted to torture.
The two right groups, B'Tselem and the HaMoked Centre for the Defense of the Individual, questioned 73 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who were detained by Israeli forces between July 2005 and January 2006.
Most of those interviewed said they were routinely held in appalling conditions, subjected to “beatings, painful binding, swearing, humiliation and denial of basic needs” from the moment of their arrest to their transfer to the Shin Beth internal security service for interrogation, the report said, adding that the maltreatment was intended to "break the spirit" of those who were being interrogated.
Such techniques “are defined by international law as ill-treatment and may reach the level of torture," it said.
Detainees suspected of possessing information that could prevent attacks against Israel are subjected to the harshest treatment, the rights groups said. The abusive techniques include sleep deprivation for more than 24 hours, beatings, and shackling prisoners in painful positions.
One of those questioned said Israeli interrogators made him arch his back over a bench with his hands and legs joined in what detainees call “the banana position”.
“They brought a chain and used it to hook together the handcuffs and leg shackles. The way this made my body stretch was unbearable,'' said the man, identified as A.Z., 29. “Then the interrogators lifted the bench from both ends and dropped it suddenly. At that point I lost consciousness.''
Such measures defy a 1999 ruling by Israel's Supreme Court which outlawed what the Shin Bet security service call “moderate physical pressure,'' such as sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures and tying up detainees in painful positions.
The rights groups criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling as ambiguous, because it stated that members of the security service who abused detainees may be exempted from criminal liability if they believed that the people they were interrogating had information about an imminent “terrorist act”.
“These measures are defined as torture under international law. Their use is not negligible, even if not routine,” the report said.
Defending the illegal techniques, Israel’s justice ministry condemned the report as unrepresentative and inaccurate.
But the rights groups said: "The testimonies provided a snapshot of the treatment of Palestinian detainees… We are convinced that they represent a valid indication of the frequency of the phenomena."
What’s more shocking is that at least 500 prisoner abuse complaints have been filed against the security service since 2001, but not one criminal investigation has been opened, the report said, urging the Shin Beth to immediately stop using harsh interrogation techniques "that injure the dignity or physical integrity" of prisoners and to back the ban with legislation.
“Like murder, rape and slavery, torture is a form of absolute evil that justifies the imposition of an absolute prohibition,'' the report said.
By Karima Saifullah
Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity."
Torture doesn’t only ruin the victim’s life, but also shake the whole community. It’s therefore an abomination that, although strictly prohibited by international law, torture is practiced in more than half of the world’s countries.
The Palestinians’ suffering at the hands of the Israelis is worse than in any other part of the world. Recent reports by human rights groups and legal experts document widespread, systematic violation of international laws at Israeli detention centers, where several prisoners are children under the age of 18, most of whom are subjected to torture, harsh interrogation tactics, physical beatings, deplorable living conditions and no access to fair trial.
A new report by two Israeli human right groups, released on Sunday, accused the Israeli Security Agency of routinely abusing Palestinian detainees, saying that in some cases the ill-treatment amounted to torture.
The two right groups, B'Tselem and the HaMoked Centre for the Defense of the Individual, questioned 73 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank who were detained by Israeli forces between July 2005 and January 2006.
Most of those interviewed said they were routinely held in appalling conditions, subjected to “beatings, painful binding, swearing, humiliation and denial of basic needs” from the moment of their arrest to their transfer to the Shin Beth internal security service for interrogation, the report said, adding that the maltreatment was intended to "break the spirit" of those who were being interrogated.
Such techniques “are defined by international law as ill-treatment and may reach the level of torture," it said.
Detainees suspected of possessing information that could prevent attacks against Israel are subjected to the harshest treatment, the rights groups said. The abusive techniques include sleep deprivation for more than 24 hours, beatings, and shackling prisoners in painful positions.
One of those questioned said Israeli interrogators made him arch his back over a bench with his hands and legs joined in what detainees call “the banana position”.
“They brought a chain and used it to hook together the handcuffs and leg shackles. The way this made my body stretch was unbearable,'' said the man, identified as A.Z., 29. “Then the interrogators lifted the bench from both ends and dropped it suddenly. At that point I lost consciousness.''
Such measures defy a 1999 ruling by Israel's Supreme Court which outlawed what the Shin Bet security service call “moderate physical pressure,'' such as sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures and tying up detainees in painful positions.
The rights groups criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling as ambiguous, because it stated that members of the security service who abused detainees may be exempted from criminal liability if they believed that the people they were interrogating had information about an imminent “terrorist act”.
“These measures are defined as torture under international law. Their use is not negligible, even if not routine,” the report said.
Defending the illegal techniques, Israel’s justice ministry condemned the report as unrepresentative and inaccurate.
But the rights groups said: "The testimonies provided a snapshot of the treatment of Palestinian detainees… We are convinced that they represent a valid indication of the frequency of the phenomena."
What’s more shocking is that at least 500 prisoner abuse complaints have been filed against the security service since 2001, but not one criminal investigation has been opened, the report said, urging the Shin Beth to immediately stop using harsh interrogation techniques "that injure the dignity or physical integrity" of prisoners and to back the ban with legislation.
“Like murder, rape and slavery, torture is a form of absolute evil that justifies the imposition of an absolute prohibition,'' the report said.
