Follow-up of case ISR 160210_ISR 160210.VAW_Renewal of the administrative detention order of Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi and harsh conditions of detention

​CaseISR 160210.1/ ISR 160210.1.VAWFollow-upof case ISR 160210/ ISR 160210.VAWURGENTCAMPAIGNS/ VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENRenewal of administrative detention againsta Palestinian women/ Harsh detention conditions TheInternational Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) has received new information and requests your URGENT intervention in the followingsituation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. New information The International Secretariatof OMCT has been informed by a reliable source andAntenna International, a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the renewal of theadministrative detention order of Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi, 27 years old. Shereportedly continues to be detained in harsh conditions of detention at Section 12 of Hasharon Prison, one of Israel’s largest prisonfacilities. According to the informationreceived, on 12 September 2010, Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi’s administrative detention order was extended for anadditional six month period. She is now to be held detained, without charge ortrial, until 11 March 2011. TheInternational Secretariat of OMCT reiterates its deep concernabout the situation of Ms. HanaYahya Shalabi and, in particular, the fact that the procedure under which heradministrative detention has been ordered and prolonged, as well as herdetention conditions, do not meet international human rights standards. Backgroundinformation OMCT had earlier been informedabout the administrative detention of Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi. According to the informationreceived, on 14 September 2009 at approximately 1:30 a.m., Israeli soldiers surrounded Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi’s family home in Burquin Village, near the West Bank town of Jenin, ordered Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi’s entire family outside of the house anddemanded Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi to give them her identity card. During thesearch of the house, one soldier reportedly took framed pictures of Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi’s brother, Samer[1],and tore them apart. The soldiers also reportedly shouted and cursed her andher family, pushed her 63-year-old father with the butt of a rifle, handcuffed and arrested her. According to the sameinformation, Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi wastransferred in a military jeep to Salem Detention Centre, during which her abaya[2]came open, uncovering her clothes and parts of her body. At that moment, someof the soldiers allegedly took pictures of her, knowing she would feel offendedand humiliated. When they arrived to Salem Detention Centre, she was given aquick physical examination and was then transferred to Kishon Detention Centrein Israel, where she was interrogated every day from 10:00 am until late hours in the evening for eight days. During the interrogationperiod, she was allegedly held in solitary confinement in a very dirty cellmeasuring six square meters with no windows or natural sunlight. The lack ofnatural sunlight caused her to lose all sense of time. She was unable tomonitor time in order to respect her fast in the period of Ramadan, so she decidednot to eat at all, during the entire eight day period. She was allegedlysubjected to sexual harassment and physical violence. During one interrogationsession, one of the Israeli interrogators called her “habibti”(darling) in aprovocative way. Ms. HanaYahya Shalabi felt humiliated so she shouted at him. The interrogatorsreportedly responded by slapping her and beating her on her arms and hands. Theguards then brought her back to her cell, where she was tied to her bed. Theyalso took pictures of her in that position. According to the sameinformation, after the interrogation period concluded, Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabiremained at Kishon Detention Centre for nine days (Israeli authorities claimedfor investigation reasons). On 29 September 2009, Israeli MilitaryCommander Ilan Malka issued a six-month administrative detention orderagainst Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi, on the grounds that she posed a threat tothe “security of the area”. The order was set to expire on 28 March 2010. On 5 October 2009, a judicial review of theorder took place at the Court of Administrative Detainees in Ofer MilitaryBase, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. On that occasion,the military judge confirmed the order of detention of six months. The judgebased his decision on “secret information”[3]made available to him by the military prosecution and claimed that Ms. HanaYahya Shalabi was intending to carry out a “terrorist attack”, though heprovided no evidence to support this allegation. Ms. HanaYahya Shalabi’s attorneys filed an appeal against her administrative detentionorder, but the appeal was refused. As the judge decided this time to count fromthe day she was detained, Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi was expected to beheld detained, without charge or trial, until 13 March 2010. Her attorneys filed an appeal against heradministrative detention order, but the appeal was refused. The order wassubsequently extended for six months, until September 2010. On 1 October 2009, Ms. HanaYahya Shalabi was finally transferred to Section 2 of Hasharon Prison, afterspending 17 days at Kishon Detention Centre, where she was not given once achange of clean clothes. Due to overcrowding, she was placed in the same sectoras female Israeli criminal offenders, violating the Israeli Prison ServiceRegulations[4] and placing her in asector where Palestinian women enjoy fewer recreation hours and are usuallysubject of discrimination, humiliation and threats by Israeli prisoners. Theattorney of the Palestinian NGO Addameer subsequently filed a complaint withthe Hasharon Prison administration regarding her detention conditions. On 25 October 2009, after beingheld twenty five days among Israeli criminal offenders, she was eventuallytransferred to Section 12[5].Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi has been suffering from the harsh detentionconditions and she has complained of overcrowding, humidity, lack of naturalsunlight and adequate ventilation, as well as poor hygiene standards. According to the sameinformation, prior to her arrest bythe Israeli authorities, Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi was arrested anddetained by the Palestinian intelligence forces for a week (she was detainedfrom 9:00 am to 11:00 pm while being allowed to sleep at home) in 2009 for thepurpose of interrogation. BackgroundInformation Israel has been holdinghundreds of persons from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in administrative detention. In the occupied Palestinian West Bank, the Israeli armycarries out administrative detention on the basis of Military Order 1651, whichempowers military commanders to detain an individual for up to six months ifthey have “reasonable grounds to presume that the security of the area orpublic security require the detention.” On or just before the expiry date, thedetention order is also frequently renewed and this process can be continuedindefinitely. Administrative detention deprives detainees of basic safeguards,including the right to challenge the evidence on which the detention is based,warrants are not required, and the detainee may be held in incommunicadodetention for an extended period, subject to renewal. The United Nations Committee Against Torture has alreadyexpressed concern that administrative detention does not conform with article16 of the Convention[6].This type of indefinite administrative detention, following manifestly unfairproceedings, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. On the issueof prison conditions of incarcerated Palestinian women, OMCT and the PublicCommittee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) in a 2005 alternative country report to the United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women(CEDAW), already highlighted that “female Palestinian detaineesand prisoners are often held in poor conditions of detention that are in contraventionof the standards set in Israeli law, international law and the UN MinimumStandard Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners”. Furthermore,in a study conducted by Addameer[7],it was found that lack of specialized gender sensitive care continues to be aproblem for detainees in Hasharon prison and other places in the Occupied Territories. OMCT expresses its deep concern about the situation of Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi and, in particular,the fact that the procedure under which her administrative detention has beenordered and prolonged, as well as her detention conditions, do not meetinternational human rights standards, includingher right not to be arbitrarily detained as well as her absolute right at alltimes not to be subjected to any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,including sexual harassment. Action requested Please write to theauthorities in Israel urging them to: i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical andpsychological integrity of Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi; ii. Guarantee immediate and unconditional access to allmembers of her family and adequate medical care, including the independentspecialized, gender-specific care, that she may require;iii. Order her immediate release in the absence of validlegal charges that are consistent with international legal standards, or, if suchcharges exist, bring her promptly before an impartial, independent andcompetent tribunal that will ensure due process at all times; iv. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough,independent and impartial investigation into the reports of ill-treatment,including sexual harassment, the result of which must be made public, in orderto bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartialtribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided bylaw;v. Guarantee that adequate compensation is awarded to Ms. Hana Yahya Shalabi for the violationof her human rights;vi. At all times ensure strict respect for internationalhuman rights and humanitarian law in the exercise of its jurisdiction, includingin connection with military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Addresses Ø 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 Ø Mr. Menachem Mazuz, Attorney General,Fax: + 972 2 627 4481; + 972 2 628 5438;+972 2 530 3367 Ø Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit, Military JudgeAdvocate General, 6 David Elazar Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel, Fax: +972 3 608 0366, +972 3 5694526, Email: arbel@mail.idf.il, avimn@idf.gov.il Ø Permanent Missionof 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 theembassies of Israel in your respectivecountry. ***Geneva,16 December 2010 Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
[1] He was reportedly killed by the Israeli army on 29 September 2005 during an incursion inthe village.[2] Traditional Muslimreligious dress covering the entire body worn by women over home clothes.[3] Neither lawyers nor detainees are permitted tosee the “secret information” used as a basis for the detention orders,rendering any possible legal defence meaningless.[4] Administrative detainees are to be heldseparately from all other detainees and prisoners, including those who havebeen convicted of a crime.[5] Building which now constitutes the prison complex served as the headquarters ofthe British Mounted Police during the British Mandate in Palestine and, as such, was never designed for theincarceration of women. [6] CAT/C/ISR/CO/4, para 17.[7] InNeed of Protection. Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Detention. http://www.aseerat.ps/files