“The term “torture” means 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”. (1)

Torture

On 6 September 1999, the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled to ban the use of torture during interrogation. A seemingly considerable victory for human rights defenders proved later through practice not to be applicable to Palestinian “security prisoners”. Indeed, the ruling failed to explicitly forbid the use of torture but rather allowed that interrogation methods such as “moderate physical pressure” – widely deemed as torture – may be used in the “necessity of defence” and in situations where a detainee is considered a ‘ticking bomb’. In some instances, detainees have died while in custody as a result of torture. Confessions extracted through such practices are admissible in court and/or military tribunal (2).

In practice, Palestinian detainees are submitted to three different types of torture:

• Routine: sleep deprivation, hands tied with plastic cuffs, squeezing of plastic cuffs to cut off circulation, beatings, slaps, kicks, physical and psychological threats and humiliation;
• Special methods (used in ‘ticking bomb’ cases): Shabeh (position abuse), in which detainees are shackled to a chair in painful positions, pressure on different parts of the body, strongly shaking the detainee after being shackled for a long period of time, strangulation and other means of suffocation, pulling of hair, multiple humiliations;
• Inside cells: sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, prolonged and continuous exposure to artificial light, solitary confinement, tear gas thrown inside cells, inhumane detention conditions.

As Israel can legally hold detainees incommunicado for up to two months, Israeli Security Agency (ISA) interrogators are able to use methods of torture with impunity. If a complaint is filed, investigations are confidential and led by an ISA agent under the authority of the State Attorney. No agent has been charged since the responsibility for investigations was transferred to the Ministry of Justice in 1994.

Interrogation

Under Israeli military regulations a Palestinian can be detained for up to 8 days without the Israeli military informing the detainee of the reason for his/her arrest and without being brought before a judge. Between April and June 2002, this period of time was increased by Israeli military order 1500 to 18 days. Following or during the 8 days of detention, a detainee is sent to an interrogation center, charged with an offense, given an administrative detention order, or released.

According to martial law, security authorities may prohibit a detainee from meeting with a lawyer for up to 90 days. This prohibition may also apply to meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives, who are authorised by international agreements to visit Palestinian detainees who are under interrogation. Thus, the Palestinian detainee can be completely disconnected from the outside world for a prolonged duration.

On arrival at an interrogation and detention centre the detainee is either placed in a cell or taken straight for interrogation. During the interrogation period, he / she is often subjected to some form of either physical or psychological cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Addameer receives numerous reports of the continued use of abusive techniques being employed against Palestinians during interrogation. These techniques include:

• excessive use of blindfolds and handcuffs;
• slapping and kicking;
• sleep deprivation and solitary confinement;
• denial of food and water for extended periods of time;
• denial of access to toilets and denial of access to showers or change of clothes for days or weeks
• exposure to extreme cold or heat
• position abuse, yelling and exposure to loud noises
• arresting family members or alleging that family members have been arrested – as a means of pressure
• exposure to bright light
• insults and humiliation (mostly used towards women)
• numerous types of threats: threats of house demolitions, threats of sexual abuse (especially used towards female prisoners), threats of arrest of other family members, threats of placing one in a collaborator’s cell.

Secret detention “Facility 1391”

In 2003, Israel admitted to having at least one secret interrogation facility (known as “facility 1391”) that falls under the responsibility of the ISA. It is not identified on any map; therefore its exact location is unknown. Not even aerial photography includes the site of this facility. It is assumed that it is located within a military base outside the 1967 occupied territory and that it falls under the responsibility of unit 504 of the military intelligence. Detainees are not told where they are being held. Legal counsel for specific clients may, upon request, learn of their client’s detention at the facility, but remain in the dark about its location. Interrogations at this facility are alleged to employ extreme measures amounting to torture and ill-treatment. The conditions of detention are reported by former detainees of the facility to include sensory deprivation, including frequent and long periods of isolation and the denial of basic sanitary conditions. The ICRC has no access to this facility. It is possible that it has been in existence for approximately 25 years since it was established. Even those in the highest political and military systems in Israel claim to have no idea what goes on inside this facility.

Disciplinary Penalties Taken Against Palestinian Detainees

The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) imposes harsh penalties on prisoners in response to strikes, protests or disobedience such as prisoners’ failure to show up for morning or evening count or refusal to allow searches. Punishments include:

• Preventing detainees from buying goods from the canteen and from receiving financial allowance for a period of six months;
• Imposing solitary confinement for long periods as a disciplinary penalty.
  Imposing collective punishment as a punishment for an individual violation that a detainee may commit;
• Confiscating personal belongings, including electronic devices;
  Preventing detainees from pursuing their education – if enrolled at the Open University of Israel;
• Depriving prisoners from their recreation time;
• Cutting off water and electricity;
• Freezing detainees’ special canteen accounts.
• Breaking into rooms and opening fire in the air;
• Conducting late night searches;
• Preventing sick detainees from taking medicines;
• Imposing fines on detainees;
• Preventing detainees from performing the Friday prayer in a group;
• Denying family visits for prolonged periods;

In one incident which occurred on 22 October 2007 in the Negev prison (Ketziot),
an armed guard unit stormed the prisoner’s section causing the death of detainee
Mohammad Al-Ashqar and the injury of 300 detainees with various degrees. The
armed forces used rubber bullets, pepper, gas bombs and clubs.

Solitary Confinement

Considered by human rights organizations as a form of cruel punishment, solitary confinement is a common practice during interrogation, typically employed In one incident which occurred on 22 October 2007 in the Negev prison (Ketziot), an armed guard unit stormed the prisoner’s section causing the death of detainee Mohammad Al-Ashqar and the injury of 300 detainees with various degrees. The armed forces used rubber bullets, pepper, gas bombs and clubs. immediately following arrest and used as a method of coercing prisoners into confessions. It can be imposed from a few days until months. It is also the most common practice used to punish prisoners and is typically applied for a 7 day period, but can be prolonged to a maximum of 14 days. The IPS uses it as a disciplinary response to 41 different disciplinary offences.

Prisoners placed in solitary confinement suffer from harsh conditions and are completely cut off from the outside world. Their cells are only equipped with a mattress and blankets which are often reportedly dirty and / or do not provide sufficient protection from the cold. TV sets, books and newspapers are not allowed. Bathrooms are usually located outside.

Isolation

Although conditions in isolation cells are similar to regular rooms – with access to a TV set and radio – prisoners are held alone for the vast majority of the day. (3) They are allowed to leave their cell only once a day, for merely an hour recreation time where they neither see nor interact with any other prisoners. Isolated prisoners are held in cells no larger than 3 X 3.5 meters which usually include a shower and toilet. A window measuring 50 x 100 cm is usually present, but does not allow enough natural sunlight or fresh air. Isolated prisoners are served meals through an opening in the lower part of the cell’s iron door. As a result, in most cases, they cannot make eye contact with other prisoners in the isolation wing or with guards.

Unlike solitary confinement, isolation is not applied as a punitive measure. Rather, the IPS defines it as a preventative one. Addameer and Physicians for Human Rights have documented cases of prisoners held in isolation from five months to 23 years (4). Most frequently, prisoners are isolated based on two reasons: state or prison security grounds and mental health grounds. The latter group of prisoners includes those who are considered a danger to themselves and/or other detainees due to a history of mental illness. Mental health services in Israeli prisons however, consist only of medication and are not supported with therapy sessions. Most IPS physicians and psychiatrists do not speak Arabic which makes communication with the patient not only difficult, but also leads to significant distrust in the relationship. Unlike Israeli criminal offenders held in isolation, Palestinian “security prisoners” are not entitled to visits by social workers or Red Cross volunteers. All communication, including family visits if they do take place – many family members are prevented from receiving permits on security grounds – occurs through a divider which only exacerbates prisoners’ isolation and as a consequence has a detrimental effect on their physical and mental well-being. For many isolated detainees, prison guards are the only people they see for prolonged periods of time.

1 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), Article 1

2 Addameer Prisoner’s Support and Human Rights Association Report: ‘Violations against Palestinian Detainees 2007’ , December 2008

3 Sometimes prisoners can be held in joint isolation with another person in the cell.

4 Physicians for Human Rights and Addameer, (2008) “The Sounds of Silence: Isolation and Solitary Confinement of Palestinians in Israeli Detention”, July 2008

This entry was posted on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 11:50 am and is filed under Administrative Detention. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.