Palestine: "After Four Years, I Can Face My Interrogator Without Fear."
This interview is part of the United Against Torture Consortium’s Voices for Human Dignity multimedia initiative. This initiative celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Convention against Torture (1984-2024) by giving a voice to torture victims, experts, and activists.
Suha Jabara was arrested by the Palestinian Authority on suspicion of spying and taken to its West Bank detention centre in Ariha. “There were insults, beatings, threats. They threatened they could take my children away and have ‘fun’ with my mother and sisters. I felt like I wasn't human from the way they treated me,” said Jabara. “I watched the young men being arrested and tortured, so I knew what they will do to me.”
Jabara, who has a heart condition and was hospitalised three times during her detention, said she was beaten, forced to strip, threatened with rape and put in solitary confinement; a grim reminder that torture of Palestinians is not exclusively the practice of Israel.
After 70 days in custody, Jabara was released and was referred to a rehabilitation programme. “I was not in a good mental state. You no longer trust anyone, and everything is broken.” She explains how rehabilitation helped her get back on her feet and feel safe. “Now, four years later, I can face the people who hurt me, including the interrogator, and the person who hit me, without feeling afraid.”
This content was produced by the #UnitedAgainstTorture Consortium (OMCT, IRCT, FIACT, APT, OMEGA and REDRESS), funded by the EU. The contents are the sole responsibility of UATC and do not necessarily reflect the position of the EU.
