At least seven Palestinian children transferred to Rimonim Prison in Israel / One child released and other seven still detained in Ofer Prison

At least seven boys transferred from Ofer Prison to Rimonim Prison inside Israel

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information on the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

New information

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by Defence for Children-Palestine section (hereafter DCI-Palestine), a member organisation of OMCT SOS-Torture network, that, on or about 8 March 2010, out of the 15 children who remained detained after the mass arrest during the raid in Al Jalazun Refugee Camp by the Israeli Army on February 11, at least seven children were transferred from Ofer Prison, run by Israeli Prison Service (IPS) in the West Bank, to Rimonim Prison, inside Israel. All of the children transferred are male and aged 14 and 15.

According to the information received, the IPS decided to transfer the boys after lawyers of DCI-Palestine had denounced their illegal detention with adult prisoners inside Ofer prison. The Rimonim Prison (near Tel Aviv) has a dedicated juvenile section for children aged from 12 to 15 where they are kept separately from adults.

The seven boys transferred are:

• Ahmad G. (14)
• Mohammad M. (15)
• Malek N. (15)
• Ahmad M. (15)
• Khaled D. (15)
• Malek A. (14)
• Naser S. (15)

Malek A. and Ahmad G. will appear to Court next time on 25 March and 15 April respectively, while the other five will appear on 10 May 2010.

However, article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, that applies to the protection of civilians in time of war and thus to those children, prohibits the transfer of detainees out of occupied territory. Beyond the contravention of international humanitarian and human rights law, detaining Palestinian children illegally inside Israel makes it difficult, and in cases impossible, for family members to visit their children due to freedom of movement restriction and for the children’s lawyers to visit their clients and provide legal assistance.

Only the children under 16 were transferred to the juvenile section of the Rimonim Prison. Children aged 16 and above are considered adults under Military Order 132. Therefore, seven other children who were also arrested during the raid, namely Ahmad S. (16), Mohammad S. (16), Zaid Z. (16), Yasin N. (17), Amer A. (17), Moayad R. (16) and Mohanad E. (16), remain detained in Ofer Prison. Mahmoud S. (16) has been released.

Reminder of the situation

At around 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, 11 February 2010, Israeli soldiers entered Al Jalazun Refugee Camp near Ramallah, in the West Bank, went from house to house and started rounding up, beating and harassing residents of the Camp. According to information obtained by DCI-Palestine, at least 17 children were arrested and taken away together with adults.

Information obtained from residents’ testimonies, show that, during the raid, Israeli soldiers allegedly broke or blasted open doors of houses. Residents of the camp reported being terrified and not having been subjected to such a violent night raid in years.

Finally, evidence that includes affidavits obtained by DCI-Palestine, shows that children suffered from serious humiliations and violations of their rights during their arrest, transfer, interrogation, detention and court appearances.

OMCT is gravely concerned about the practice of detaining Palestinian children inside Israeli prisons in violation of article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and calls for its immediate end. Moreover, OMCT considers the Military Order 132 as contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Israel is party. Indeed, its article 37 (c) states that all child detainees under 18 should be held separately from adults.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:

1. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of the arrested children;
2. Also guarantee their immediate and unconditional access to legal assistance, medical care and members of their families;
3. Order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or, if such charges exist, bring them promptly before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal that will ensure due process at all times;
4. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into those human rights violations, 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;
5. At all times 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, 16 March 2010

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