Wa’ed Society: “70 detainees died due to Israel’s systematic policy of torture”

Friday June 27, 2008 01:38 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Wa’ed Society for Detainees reported on Thursday that 70 Palestinian Detainees died due to torture in Israeli prisons and interrogation facilities since 1967. The statement of the society came as the world marked the International Day Against Torture.

The society added that Israel legalizes torture against the detainees although it is one of the signatories of the 1986 UN document against torture. The agreement came into effect on June 26 1987 and in 1991 the Israeli government officially approved it.

Yet, Israel continued torturing and abusing the detainees leading to the death of 70 detainees in addition to more than 120 who died of medical negligence.

The society stated that this agreement means that legal measures should be taken against any county that practices torture.

“Torture aims at terrifying, framing, harming and hurting the detainees physically and psychologically in order to force them to confess”, the society added, “Palestinian detainees are tortured starting from the moment of their arrest”.

It its reported, the society said that 89% of the detainees were hit and clubbed, 60% were subjected to extreme coldness, 94% were forced to stand for extended periods, and 95% were deprived from sleeping. It added that torture is officially carried out in isolated centers and that the detainees are not allowed to contact their lawyers or each other. It also stated that torture could last for several months.

The detainees cannot contact their lawyers, parents, the Red Cross or any other human rights group during interrogation. During torture, nobody, not even the parents, knows the whereabouts of their detained family members.

The society also said that Israel is one of the main countries that manufactures torture equipment, and that most of the detainees who were tortured suffered from physical and psychological effects for several years.    

A large number of detainees died after they were released from prison due to the side effects of the extreme torture that they were subjected to during interrogation. Approximately 200 detainees died of torture and medical negligence in Israeli prisons.

The society said that torture is a direct violation of human rights agreements, and articles number 7 and 10 of the international agreement on civil and political rights, in addition to article 31, 32 and 37 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions regarding protecting the civilians in times of war.

Israel is also violating article number 5 of the International Declaration for Human Rights and is even violating its own law especially article number 277.

The society also reported that 11% of the Palestinian children who were kidnapped by the army, and tortured are suffering from mental and physical problems, and need ongoing medical and psychological treatment.

 The kidnapped children are subjected to physical and psychological torture. Most of them were kidnapped from their family’s homes during late night hours.  

The kidnapped children are not only tortured but are also prosecuted in Israeli courts without any considerations for their age.

Female detainees are also tortured and are repeatedly threatened with rape and other abuse. They are also repeatedly insulted by the soldiers.

It is worth mentioning that three female detainees gave birth to their children in prison; they are identified as Mirvat Taha, Manal Ghanim and Samar Sbeih. They were tied to their beds during labor. 600 women were kidnapped by the army since the begging of the Intifada in late September 2000, among them 128 who are still imprisoned.

palestine | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org