Administrative detention of 16-year-old Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Defence for Children International -Palestine section (hereafter DCI-Palestine), a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the administrative detention of 16-year-old Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal.

According to the information received, on 20 March 2010, Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal was arrested at the family home in the Qalandiya refugee camp, near Ramallah in the West Bank, at 3:00am. He was asleep at the time and woke up to see heavily armed Israeli soldiers in his bedroom.

According to the same information, a soldier immediately tied Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal’s hands behind his back, without checking his identity by asking for his name or letting him wear warmer clothes than his sandals. He was then led out of the house and on his way he saw that the front door had been broken down. He was only asked to confirm his identity after being blindfolded and led 70 metres to the main road where a number of military vehicles were parked. He was then put into a military vehicle. At some point, a soldier allegedly insulted Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal by saying ‘son of an adultress'; another ordered him to place his head on his knees and slapped him every time he tried to sit up. Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal recalls that this caused him ‘extreme pain.’ At no time during this process was he told why he was being arrested, or where he was being taken.

Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal was next reportedly transported to an unknown location and given a medical form to complete[1]. He was then left tied up outside between two shipping containers. Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal reported that, at some point, he heard the sound of a weapon being cocked close by, followed by laughter. He also stated that the soldier who arrested him didn’t allow him to put on warm clothes, although it was very cold and he was shivering. He had to sit at the same place the entire time hearing dogs and soldiers. Only in the morning, did a soldier reportedly brought a blanket and covered him with it. At around 2pm, he was allegedly placed in another military vehicle and transferred to Ofer Prison, near Ramallah.

According to the same information, on arrival at Ofer Prison, Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal was strip-searched and ordered to sit naked on the ground until he was given a brown prison uniform. He did not know why. He was then taken to a cell containing adults and children, where he remained for three days. After this period, he was placed in a vehicle and taken to Binyamin police station for interrogation.

Once there, on 22 March 2010, Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal reportedly waited to be interrogated from 8:30am until 2:00pm, during which time his hands and feet were shackled. He recalls his interrogation as follow (according to the testimony given to DCI-Palestine): ‘I sat in the chair in the interrogation room while my hands and feet were still shackled. Then, the interrogator started asking me about the plot without explaining what the plot was. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said to him and he asked me about the riot, bullets and weapons without giving any further explanation. I denied knowledge because I really didn’t know what he was talking about and I really had nothing to do with those things. Then, he asked me about the internet and a guy named Mohammad from Gaza I chat with. I told him I didn’t know Mohammad that well. I met him in some chat room and we talk about school and tests and so on. “Liar,” the interrogator said to me and kept focusing on asking me about this guy.’ The interrogator then reportedly threatened to send him to Al Mascobiyya interrogation and detention centre, a place in Jerusalem notorious for its interrogations. The interrogator reportedly handed him a handwritten paper to sign, but he refused as he could not read the writing.

According to the same information, Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal was then sent back to Ofer Prison, and, on 25 March 2010, was handed an administrative detention order for six months, which was later shortened to three months at the judicial review. His detention order is set to expire on 26 June 2010.

It is worth noting that Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal and another boy (no current information available) are the first children to receive Israeli administrative detention orders since November 2009.

Background information

Israel has been holding hundreds of persons from OPT in administrative detention; currently, at least 237 Palestinians are being held. In the occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli army carries out administrative detention on the basis Military Order 1591 which empowers military commanders to detain an individual, including children as young as 12, without charge or trial, for up to six months if they have ‘reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area or public security require the detention’. It is often based on ‘secret evidence.’ On or just before the expiry date, the detention order is also frequently renewed and this process can be continued indefinitely.

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its deep concern about the situation of Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal, whose administrative detention infringes the principle according to which deprivation of liberty of a child (below 18 years old) should “be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time” (article 37-b of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Israel is a State party). OMCT also recalls that administrative detention deprives detainees of basic safeguards, including the right to a fair trial and the ability to adequately challenge the basis of his or her detention. The United Nations Committee Against Torture has already expressed concern that administrative detention does not conform with article 16 of the Convention[2]. This type of indefinite administrative detention, in manifestly unfair proceedings, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

OMCT is also gravely concerned about the violence used by the Israeli soldiers during the arrest of Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal and recalls of his absolute right at all times not to be subjected to any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Actions requested

Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:

1. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal;
2. Grant Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal immediate and unconditional access to legal assistance, medical care and members of his families
3. Immediately inform of the reasons of Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal’s arrest and detention;
4. Oder the immediate and unconditional release of Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal from administrative detention in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal that will ensure due process at all times;
5. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the events, in particular the allegations of ill-treatment, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by the law;
6. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to Moatasem Raed Younis Nazzal for the violation of his human rights;
7. Put an immediate end to the practice of detaining persons under 18 years in administrative detention;
8. At all time ensure strict respect for international human rights and humanitarian law in the exercise of its jurisdiction, including in connection with military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Addresses

• Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3, Kaplan Street, PO Box 187, Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem, Israel, Fax: +972- 2-651 2631, Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
• Mr. Menachem Mazuz, Attorney General, Fax: + 972 2 627 4481; + 972 2 628 5438; +972 2 530 3367
• Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, Military Judge Advocate General, 6 David Elazar Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel, Fax: +972 3 608 0366, +972 3 569 4526, Email: arbel@mail.idf.il, avimn@idf.gov.il
• Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations Office and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, Avenue de la Paix 1-3, 1202 Geneva, Fax: +41 22 716 05 55, Email: mission-israel@geneva.mfa.gov.il

Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.

Geneva, 27 April 2010

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

[1] No information was added concerning this form, nevertheless it is known as being a ten minute test done to almost every arrested child. It is reported as not being more than the fulfilling of a checklist. Evidence collected by DCI-Palestine shows that children complaining about their health did not receive any medical attention. One child even denounced having been beaten by soldiers and not having received any attention from the doctor as he had 'nothing to do with that'.

[2] CAT/C/ISR/CO/4, para 17