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Introduction
When the
world’s attention was focused on America’s
war on Iraq, the news emerging from Palestine dwindled. The daily
atrocities committed by the Zionists upon the Palestinians during
this time were not witnessed– but we knew that they did not cease.
The dead civilian men, women, teenagers, toddlers and babies once
buried and conveniently labelled as terrorists or accidents, erased
from the world’s conscience. So too, those left without homes and
possessions once they have been trampled by Zionist soldiers or
crushed and destroyed by their tanks. But for the dead, one can say
that the suffering has ended (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun –
indeed to Allah we belong and to Him is the return). But what of
those who stand up to the continued aggression and occupation? What
happens to these Palestinian and Lebanese soldiers? They too are
forgotten but what makes this worse is that they are still alive.
Ignored by human rights organizations save a handful who are
continuing to campaign for their release there are thousands of
Palestinian men, women and children detained in Palestine and
“Israel” for defending their homeland.
Indeed since
the inception of the Zionist entity Palestinians resisting the
occupation of their homeland have been continually arrested and
imprisoned. Although defined as a war crime those arrested within
Palestine
itself have been transferred to prisons and detention centres within
“Israel”. Between 1967 and 1998, according to the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights over 600,000 Palestinians were arrested for periods
of a week to life imprisonment.
Thus for the
purpose of self-defence and in the interest of “Israel’s” national
security, Palestinians are routinely arrested, detained and
tortured. This was exemplified fully in April 2002. In order to root
out “terrorists” in Jenin, whilst destroying the refugee camp, the
order given by Ariel Sharon to arrest any male between the age of 15
and 55 ended with 8,0001 Palestinians rounded up, detained and
subjected to ill-treatment. Palestinians who had undergone arbitrary
detention were interviewed by Amnesty International and described
the cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment that they had been
subjected to by the “Israeli” Defence Force. Torture, beatings with
rifle butts, humiliations and insults were commonplace.2
Torture
Under the
Fourth Geneva Convention torture is a war crime and its use under
any circumstance cannot be justified. According to Article 147
“torture or inhuman treatment… unlawful confinement of a protected
person,” and “willfully depriving a protected person of the rights
of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention” are
all war crimes since these acts all breach the Convention.
Article 7 of
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is non-derogable
and prohibits the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
“Israel” has
also ratified the Convention against Torture which states that “No
exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a
threat of war, internal political instability or any other public
emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture” (Article
2(b)) and requires investigations into every allegation of torture
or ill-treatment (Article 12).
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Israeli prison torture method 1 |
Israeli prison torture method 2 |
Israeli prison torture method 3 |
Although the
unjust regimes in many countries around the world routinely use
torture upon detainees no country has gone so far as to legalise its
use. In 1987 torture was legalised in “Israel” and even though in
1999, the Israeli Supreme Court outlawed this decision, they agreed
that physical force could still be used in special circumstances.
The torture
methods used by the “Israeli” authorities in order to extract
“confessions” have been well documented. Psychological, physical and
sexual abuse are all practiced routinely. Common forms of torture
include sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, shining light into
the eyes and the denial of proper medical care. Torture is practiced
in such a way that marks on the body are minimized whilst at the
same time inflicting the maximum amount of pain. One of the most
famous torture methods, the “Shabah” where the detainee’s hands are
tied to the back of a chair and feet to the chair-legs is even
carried out on detained children.3
Conditions
of Imprisonment
Prison
conditions for Palestinians often fail to meet minimum basic
standards. The jails are overcrowded, and prisoners often exposed to
extremes of temperature with inadequate nutrition and poor hygiene.
Access to medical care is also unsatisfactory. Palestinian minors
are sometimes confined with Israeli criminals, exposing them to
physical and psychological dangers.4
Administrative Detention
One of the
most unjust practices inflicted upon detainees is the use of
administrative detention. It is permitted under international law
but because of the extreme nature of this type of detention and the
fact its misuse is so damaging, one can apply it only under strict
conditions.
Administrative
detention is detention without trial or charge and can be authorised
without the use of the courts. Palestinians held in “Israel” are
often held in administrative detention without being told the
charges against them or without trial. Even on appeal Palestinian
prisoners and their lawyers are blocked from seeing any evidence
against them.
According to
Btselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the
Occupied Territories, “Israel” has “…made a charade out of the
entire system of procedural safeguards in both domestic and
international law regarding the right to liberty and due process”.
According to
the same organisation in May 2002 after the invasion of Jenin more
than 600 Palestinians were held in administrative detention in
“Israel”.
According to
figures provided by the IDF Spokesperson’s office, the IDF is
holding, as of February 5, 2003, 1088 Palestinians in
Administrative Detention. This does not reflect the true figure
because the IDF is holding Palestinians against whom administrative
detention orders have not been issued.
Sheikh
Abdulkareem Obaid and Mustafa Dirani, are two Lebanese nationals
being held in “Israel” on whom administrative detention is
continually used to prevent them from being released. They were
kidnapped from their homes in Lebanon in 1989 and 1994 respectively;
both deemed a threat to “Israeli” national security for their
vociferous opposition to “Israel’s”
then occupation of Southern Lebanon. Since the beginning it became a
known fact to the international community that their kidnap and
subsequent detention was for the use of bargaining chips in exchange
for the release of IDF soldiers. Little is ever heard about their
plight even though Mustafa Dirani’s lawyer had confirmed that Dirani
was tortured and sexually abused by IDF soldiers. That Mustafa
Dirani and Sheikh Obaid are never mentioned or even acknowledged by
the international community must be compared with former Western
hostages on whom continual campaigns were made for their release.
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From the
beginning of the intifada (December 1989) to the end of 1998, more
than 20,000 administrative detention orders were issued, pursuant to
which some 5,000 persons were detained (the disparity in numbers
results from several orders being issued against the same
individual).
According to
the Defence for Children International/Palestine Section (DCI/PS),
every year hundreds of Palestinian children from the West Bank
and
Gaza
are arrested, interrogated, and imprisoned by the Israeli military
authorities. Some have been arrested and imprisoned for the “crime”
of throwing stones. Since September 2000 until August 2002 the DCI/PS
states that the number of child arrests has exceeded 1500.
Palestinian
children held in detention centres are in situations unimaginable to
us. Taken forcefully from their homes sometimes in the middle of the
night, they can be detained with criminal prisoners, threatened with
violence and even beaten. Due to road blockages imposed by the
Israelis family visits can be non-existent and lawyers too have
restricted access to the children. In addition the conditions are
filthy and cramped; some children have been detained in cells
measuring 1m by 2m.
The DCI/PS has
represented hundreds of Palestinian children over the years and
practically every child has given a report of being subject to some
kind of torture. They include “…beating, sleep deprivation, threats,
sexual harassment, having hot and cold water poured on them
intermittently, tied in painful positions and being placed in
isolation.”5
A testimony
provided to DCI/PS by a 17 year old Palestinian boy, Samih Sameeh
Atta Judeh, of Ramallah who was detained for 9 and a half days in
March/April 2002 described in detail his arrest and maltreatment at
the hands of the “Israeli” authorities. His ordeal began when a
group of Israeli soldiers entered his house at the end of March at 02:30
am. The
“soldiers” damaged the property and began beating Samih with rifle
butts in his home. He and his brother were taken to a school and
placed outside in the yard. They were handcuffed and blindfolded,
left there for two days in the rain and cold without blankets,
whilst soldiers beat and shouted at them.
Two days later
Samih and his brother were transferred to Ofer military camp. They
spent three days in an outside yard, next to the interrogators
office. Again they were handcuffed, blindfolded and left in the rain
and cold without blankets for three days. This time they were denied
any food. After the three days Samih was interrogated for 15
minutes, during which he was beaten and threatened. He was asked
questions such as who his friends were and who visited him.
After the
interrogation, he was placed in a small tent with approximately 60
other prisoners. Another small tent was bought and the prisoners
divided themselves among the two. In Samih’s tent, where he had to
spend the next two days the few blankets available were wet and the
tent itself was leaking. The next two and a half days were spent in
the barracks. They were finally transported to Qalandia camp where
they were released. They were beaten for a final time whilst
disembarking from the bus.
Throughout the
entire ordeal very small portions of food were given. In one
instance, one apple was divided among four persons, one yogurt
container was divided among ten persons, and each prisoner was
provided with 1 ½ pieces of bread per day.”6
Treatment
of Women Prisoners
There are
sixty female detainees in Israeli prisons, some under the age of
eighteen. Detained for resisting occupation, they are being held in
degrading conditions.
Many of the
women are held in solitary confinement. They have been unable to
communicate with their families and denied medical treatment. In
addition they have been subjected to degrading body searches, in
contravention of international law. Many have been sexually harassed
and abused by Israeli guards and criminal prisoners with whom they
are forced to associate with during recess time.
Some of the
women have been subjected to severe beatings by Israeli
interrogators. Two detainees, Amna Mona and Swas Turki were admitted
to Abu Kbir
Hospital for medical treatment as a result of beatings. Lawyers for
the Palestinian human rights group LAW have reported observing chain
marks on the legs and arms of female political detainees. Women
interviewed gave statements about the systematic use of torture and
degradation to which they had been subjected. This includes being
chained for hours, denied access to toilets, beatings and lack of
clean drinking water.
Conclusion
Palestinian
men, women and child detainees continue to face grave injustices at
the hands of the Israeli authorities. Their ‘justification’ for
holding these Palestinians as detainees is in utter contempt for
international law as is its systematic use of torture. The true
number of Palestinians held by the Israeli authorities is not known.
According to Btselem, there are currently in the region of 3,200
Palestinians of the Occupied
Territories detained in Israeli prison centres for security reasons
alone. They are being held by both the IDF and IPS (Israeli Prisons
Service) from whom these figures are given. The IPF has not provided
any figures for the number of Palestinians held. The number of
minors currently detained by both the IDF and IPF is given as 166.
The
organisation Addameer7 cites that since the beginning of the
Intifada to the end of June 2002 there were approximately 15,000
Palestinians arrested by the authorities. In addition they state
that until the end of July 2002 approximately 5000 Palestinian and
Arab prisoners were detained in Israeli prisons and detention
centres.
The Defence
for Children International/ Palestine Section reports that since
September 2000 until August 2002 the number of child arrests has
exceeded 1500.
* MOMENA KHAN,
Islamic Human Right Commission
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