Torturing
Palestinian Detainees
By Stephen Lendman
14 November, 2007
Countercurrents.org
B'Tselem
is the conservative Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the
Occupied Territories with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. A
group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and Knesset members
founded the organization in 1989 to "document and educate the Israeli
public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied
Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli
public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel" to convince
government officials to respect human rights and comply with international
law.
Its work covers a wide range
of human rights issues that include detentions and torture. In May,
2007, it prepared a detailed 100 page report titled "Absolute Prohibition:
The Torture and Ill-treatment of Palestinian Detainees" that's
now available in print for those who request it. This article summarizes
its findings that represent a joint effort by B'Tselem and HaMoked:
Center for the Defense of the Individual that was founded in 1988 to
support Palestinian rights during the first intifada in the late 1980s.
Since the early 1990s, B'Tselem
published more than ten reports on Israelis' use of torture and mistreatment
of Palestinian detainees. This is the latest one in an effort to raise
public awareness and help abolish these abhorrent practices. The findings
are based on testimonies solicited from a small "unrepresentative"
sample of 73 Palestinian West Bank residents who were arrested between
July, 2005 and January, 2006, agreed to tell their stories, and who
met predetermined criteria for the study.
They were chosen from the
names of 4460 Palestinian detainees whose relatives contacted HaMoked
for help to locate their whereabouts. HaMoked provides this service
because Israel violates international law and its own military regulations
by denying family members any information about who was detained or
where they're being held. From its many years investigating Israeli
torture, B'Tselem believes the information in this report accurately
reflects the types and extent of Israeli abusive practices.
Torture, abuse or degrading
treatment are abhorrent in any form for any reason, and long-standing
international law forbids these practices under all circumstances. The
four 1949 Geneva Conventions banned any form of "physical or mental
coercion" and affirmed sick, wounded, war prisoners and civilians
must be treated humanely. All four conventions have a common thread
called Common Article Three that requires all non-combatants to be treated
humanely at all times. There are no exceptions for any reasons, and
violations are grave breaches of Geneva and other international law
that constitute crimes of war and against humanity.
Nonetheless, the 1987 Landau
Commission (headed by retired Israeli Supreme Court Chief Justice Moshe
Landau) cited the "necessary defense" provision in the Penal
Law to recommend using "psychological and moderate physical pressure,"
to obtain evidence for convictions in criminal proceedings. Its justification
was that coercive interrogation tactics were necessary against "hostile
terrorist activity" it defined to include not just threats or acts
of violence but all activities related to Palestinian nationalism.
Later in September, 1999,
Israel's High Court of Justice (HCJ) responded to the Public Committee
Against Torture in Israel's petition (PCATI) and issued a landmark decision
(reversing Landau recommendations) and barred the use of torture against
detainees. It was, however, a hollow gesture as at the same time it
ruled pressure and a measure of discomfort were legitimate interrogation
side-effects but should not be used to break a detainee's spirit. It
then added a giant loophole allowing interrogators to use physical force
and avoid prosecutions in "ticking time bomb" cases even though
international law allows no exceptions, and Israeli authorities could
claim that excuse for anyone in custody.
Since its occupation of Gaza
and the West Bank (the OPT) in 1967, Israel imprisoned over 650,000
Palestinians according to the Palestinian peace and justice group MIFTA.
That's equivalent to about one-sixth of the OPT's population today.
The security services currently hold around ten to twelve thousand Palestinian
men, women and children in its prisons under deplorable conditions with
many under administrative detention without charge. Based on earlier
assessments by Hamoked, B'Tselem estimates as many as 85% of them are
subjected to torture and mistreatment in custody even though most of
them aren't accused of terrorism. These practices are routinely and
systematically used against political activists, students accused of
being pro-Islam, sheikhs and religious leaders, people in Islamic charitable
organizations, relatives of wanted individuals or any man, woman or
child Israel targets for any reason.
B'Tselem's May, 2007 report
states that the Israeli Security Agency (ISA - formerly called the General
Security Service or GSS) admits to using "exceptional" methods
that include "physical pressure" of interrogation in "ticking
bomb" cases that can be used as an excuse to abuse anyone. In addition,
law enforcement officials openly admit harsh measures are approved retroactively
so that Palestinian detainee rights can be freely violated without fear
of recrimination. In other words, ISA interrogators know the rules -
don't ask permission, use any methods you wish, and don't worry about
the consequences after the fact. There won't be any, and it shows in
what detainees told B'Tselem.
They reported being "softened
up" for interrogation from the moment of their arrest to when ISA
agents took over. Abuses at the outset included beatings, painful binding,
swearing, humiliation and denial of basic needs. The ISA procedure then
included seven key forms of abuse that violated the detainees' dignity
and bodily integrity. They were inflicted to break their spirit, but
international law calls it torture when it includes verified intent,
severe pain or suffering, improper motive, and involvement of the state.
All those conditions apply to Israeli abusive practices that included:
-- isolation that prohibited
detainees from contact with family, an attorney or ICRC representatives;
this exacerbated detainees' sense of powerlessness by creating a situation
in which they're completely at the mercy of interrogators; it's also
known to cause them serious psychological harm when continued for extended
periods;
-- psychological pressure
from solitary confinement in "putrid, stifling cells three to six
square meters in size" with no windows or access to daylight and
fresh air; a fixed overhead light on 24 hours a day; walls made of rough
plaster making them uncomfortable or impossible to lean against; a water
faucet on one wall and some cells with sinks; a usually dirty and damp
mattress and "filthy putrid" blankets on the floor; nothing
else in cells; reading and writing materials not allowed; in many cells,
toilets were holes in the floor; detainees denied all human contact
except for guards and interrogators.
-- physical conditions in
solitary confinement cells are regulated in Criminal Procedure Regulations
issued by Israel's Minister of Internal Security with the approval of
the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee; they don't apply
to "security detainees," however, so cells have no bed, chairs
and most often no sink; nothing else provided including use of a telephone
and right to have visitors provide items; cells were too small to walk
around in, and no daily outside exercise was allowed;
-- detainees weakened from
lack of physical activity, sleep deprivation and inadequate food; they're
denied basic needs like food and liquids, medicines or the right to
relieve themselves; throughout long hours of interrogation, they're
shackled to a chair unable to move hands or legs even minimally; they
had nutritional deficiencies and food received was inadequate, cold,
improperly cooked, flavorless and often repulsive in appearance; many
detainees resisted eating as long as possible;
-- shackling in the "shabah"
position that's the prolonged and painful binding of detainees' hands
and feet to a standard-sized unupholstered, metal frame, rigid plastic
chair fixed to the floor with no armrests; hands tightly bound behind
the back in adjustable plastic handcuffs and connected to a ring at
the back of the seat to stretch them uncomfortably below the backrest;
legs bound to the chair's front legs; detainees were unable to get up
throughout interrogation that on average lasted eight consecutive hours
without a break and on the first day ran 12 hours; later in the interrogation
period, sessions shortened to four or five hours;
-- interrogations only for
a small portion of this time; for most if it, interrogators were out
of the room; at those times air conditioning turned up to uncomfortably
cold levels; most often only one meal served during a day's interrogation;
very sparing toilet privileges allowed; nearly all detainees complained
of severe back, neck, shoulder, arms and wrist pain during interrogation;
numbness or loss of sensation in limbs also reported; the Israeli High
Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled in 1999 that all "shabah" shackling
procedures are unlawful since they violate rules for "reasonable
and fair interrogation" and injure detainees' dignity and well-being;
ISA interrogators ignore the ruling with impunity;
-- cursing and humiliating
strip searches of detainees as well as shouting, spitting in the face
and other related abusive practices; detainees forced to strip naked
and submit to body searches while being yelled at and mocked;
-- intimidations made to
include threats of physical torture (called "military interrogation"),
arrest of family members and destruction of homes;
-- using informants ("asafirs")
to get information that's not abusive as such but is a very questionable
method following preparatory "softening up."
B'Tselem then discussed "special"
interrogation methods that mostly involve physical violence:
-- sleep deprivation for
30 to 40 hours during which detainees left painfully shackled in interrogation
rooms; guards frequently awakened detainees between midnight and 5AM;
various type oppressive noises used at night to interfere with sleep;
-- use of "dry"
beatings that included punching, kicking all parts of the body, striking
with rifle butts and face slapping; detainees hit with clubs, helmets
and other objects; heads slammed against a wall, floor or hard surface;
beatings inflicted when detainees' hands were bound behind their back,
and they were blindfolded; additional beatings during physical inspections
with their hands cuffed;
-- painful binding with handcuffs
or other devices tight enough to cut off blood flow circulation and
cause swelling;
-- sharp twisting of the
head forcefully and suddenly sideways or backwards;
-- forced "frog"
crouching on tiptoes with cuffed hands behind the back accompanied by
shoving or beating until detainees lost their balance and fell forward
or backward; this method inflicts pain by increasing pressure on leg
muscles and also hurts wrists after falling;
-- use of forced "banana"
position that involves bending the back in a painful arch while the
body is extended horizontally to the floor on a backless chair with
arms and feet bound beneath it.
Prison killings also occur
like the October 22 one at the notorious Ketziot Detention Center in
the Negev desert where 2300 Palestinians are held under very harsh conditions.
It happened at 2AM when prison guards began searching tents and strip-searching
inmates in a deliberate middle of the night provocation. Prisoners resisted
and about 550 members of the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) Metsada riot
dispersal unit responded with excessive force by beating them with plastic
clubs and rifle butts as well as firing rubber-coated bullets, live
ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades that set tents ablaze and caused
as many as 250 inmate injuries and at least nine serious ones. During
the assault, Mohammed Al Ashqar was killed after being shot in the head.
The Palestinian Center for
Human Rights (PCHR) maintains that prisoner abuse, repressive tactics
and killing Palestinians is official Israeli policy that's become even
worse under current IPS director, Beni Kaniak. PCHR reports he instituted
these punitive measures:
-- reductions in food and
cleaning materials rations;
-- additional items prisoners
forbidden to have;
-- confiscated prisoners'
money and prevented none sent from families to reach them;
-- widespread use of solitary
confinement;
-- periodic movement of prisoners
to new facilities to prevent any sense of stability;
-- repeated unannounced harsh
late night raids like the October 22 one at Ketziot.
These tactics and Palestinian
detainee torture and abuse are condoned "under the auspices of
the Israeli law enforcement system." B'Tselem reported since 2001,
Israel's State Attorney's Office got over 500 complaints of these practices
but investigated none of them. Overall, instances of detainee mistreatment
are rarely looked into and even fewer ever result in indictments. Further,
despite its 1999 ruling, Israel's High Court of Justice (HCJ) aids ISA
interrogations by refusing to accept even one of hundreds of petitions
brought before it for redress. HCJ also lets ISA conceal information
from detainees that abusive orders were issued against them or that
legal petitions were filed on their behalf. It further allows evidence
obtained under torture to be used in criminal proceedings.
B'Tselem and HaMoked are
committed to ending Israel's use of torture against Palestinian detainees.
They cite the example of the US Army's September, 2006 Field Manual
for Human Intelligence Collector Operations as a proper guide to conducting
interrogations even though authorized physical and psychological brutality
became official administration policy under George Bush post-9/11. Nonetheless,
this manual covers 18 interrogation methods experience showed work under
varying situations and conditions. They range from establishing trust
between interrogator and detainee to the use of ruses and psychological
manipulation. In all cases, they don't involve torture or other unlawful
practices.
It's one thing to have rules
and laws and another to abide by them. The US under George Bush condones
and practices "the harshest interrogation techniques ever used
by the Central Intelligence Agency" according to once secret Department
of Justice (DOJ) legal opinions. It's no different in Israel where the
ISA systematically and routinely uses banned interrogation measures
with impunity. B'Tselem and HaMoked want these practices ended and urge
the Israeli government to halt them by enacting enforceable laws "strictly
prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment"
in accordance with international law.
They further recommend every
complaint of abuse and torture be investigated by an independent body,
persons found to have broken the law to be prosecuted, and that "every
detainee receives minimum humane conditions." Israel claims to
be a civilized state. It's about time it acted like one.
Stephen Lendman
lives in Chicago and can be reached at [email protected].
Also visit his blog site
at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Steve Lendman
News and Information Hour on TheMIcroEffect.com Mondays at noon US central
time.
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