- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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:
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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.
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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;
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- -- intimidations made to include threats of physical
torture (called "military interrogation"), arrest of family members
and destruction of homes;
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- -- using informants ("asafirs") to get information
that's not abusive as such but is a very questionable method following
preparatory "softening up."
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- B'Tselem then discussed "special" interrogation
methods that mostly involve physical violence:
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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;
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- -- painful binding with handcuffs or other devices tight
enough to cut off blood flow circulation and cause swelling;
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- -- sharp twisting of the head forcefully and suddenly
sideways or backwards;
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- -- 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;
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- -- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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:
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- -- reductions in food and cleaning materials rations;
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- -- additional items prisoners forbidden to have;
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- -- confiscated prisoners' money and prevented none sent
from families to reach them;
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- -- widespread use of solitary confinement;
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- -- periodic movement of prisoners to new facilities to
prevent any sense of stability;
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- -- repeated unannounced harsh late night raids like the
October 22 one at Ketziot.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
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- 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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