Israel/OPT
31.05.02
Urgent Interventions
Israel: Palestinian children ill-treated and tortured while in detention
CHILD CONCERN
Case ISR 050401.2 CC
Follow up to case ISR 050401.CC
Torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment and punishment in detention
Geneva, 31 May 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by DCI, Palestine section (DCI/PS), a member of the OMCT network, that detainees, including children, are still subject to torture and other ill-treatment in Israeli detention centres. This abuse includes beating, being handcuffed and blindfolded for extended periods of time, severe lack of food or no food, no access to medical treatment, being forced to sleep outside with shortages of, or no, bedding and repeated psychological and physical abuse. If released, detainees are taken to outlying areas in the middle of the night where they are left in dangerous situations without means of getting home.
Palestinian children are mainly detained in three main prisons in Israel; one of which, Megiddo prison, is under the administration of the Israeli military forces; the other two, Telmond and Ramle (Neve Tertze) prisons, are under the administration of the Israeli Prison Authority. Palestinian boy children who have reached the age of 16 at the time of their arrest are detained in Megiddo prison and are detained as adults. Palestinian male children who are below the age of 16 at the time of their arrest are detained in Telmond prison. Palestinian female child prisoners are detained in Ramle (Neve Terze) prison for women.
Megiddo Prison:
Today there are 870 detainees in Megiddo, including approximately 100 children. According to DCI/PS, a major issue facing the children in Megiddo is the attempt by the Israeli intelligence to recruit collaborators from amongst them to work with the Israeli army in return for reducing their punishment. Numerous detained Palestinian children also have alleged that they had been physically and psychologically pressured to collaborate with the Israeli authorities.
The following three children also provided testimonies to the DCI/PS lawyer:
Sultan Abdul Jabber Maadi, 16 years old, was arrested on 20 March 2002 at 12:30am at his house. He was transferred from his house to Etzion Detention Center in the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion and accused of stone throwing. Sultan said that the interrogators tied his hands and legs, blindfolded him and beat him on his chest. The beating continued repeatedly throughout the interrogation for 24 hours. At the end he confessed to throwing stones at soldiers. Sultan said that the soldier presented an affidavit which stated that Sultan threw stones at him.
At the end of the interrogation he was taken to a small 2mx2m isolation cell in Etzion and was kept there for 16 days. Afterwards he was transferred to Megiddo Prison. He has been prevented from receiving family visits. Because he lacks clothes, he is forced to borrow clothes from other prisoners. He also stated that the Red Cross has not yet visited him.
Jaafar Rasmi Ali Al Asmar, 17 years old, was arrested on 9 January 2002 at 3:30am. He was taken to Maale Adumim settlement and accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a military jeep. Jaafar said that his hands were tied and policemen and interrogators beat him on his legs and stomach. The interrogation continued until 9am. He confessed and signed an affidavit written in Hebrew. On the same day he was taken to Etzion Prison and placed in a small 2mx2m isolation cell for one month and then transferred to Megiddo. He has also been prevented from receiving family visits, lacks clothes and is unaware of when he will be brought to court.
Qassem Farid Abu Awda Jaber, 17 years old, was arrested on 25 May 2001 on Shalaa street in Hebron at 10 am. He was arrested and accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers. During interrogation, Israeli soldiers slapped him on his face and tied his hands, yet he refused to confess to any of their accusations. Three soldiers claimed they witnessed him throwing a Molotov cocktail at them.
They took him to Majnouna prison and on the way they beat him severely on his stomach and back and pulled at his hair. He stayed in Majnouna prison for 21 days and afterwards was transferred to Megiddo. Qassem reports that he has had no family visits since August 2001 due to the fact that the prison administration has banned prison visits. The Red Cross has visited twice and provided him with some clothes yet he continues to lack proper clothing.
Telmond Prison:
According to DCI/PS, 67 Palestinian children are now kept in the combined section 7 and 8 of Telmond prison and between 15-20 are detained alongside Israeli juvenile criminal prisoners in another section. Following a lawyer’s visit to the prison, DCI/PS highlighted the following deplorable living conditions of detention (See OMCT cases ISR 270901.CC, ISR 270901.1 CC):
· Three prisoners are held in every 2m x 2m room which contains a toilet. One of the prisoners is forced to sleep on the ground and there is inadequate bedding material.
· The rooms have small windows which are covered by iron. Thus there is no airflow into the rooms, which is particularly difficult in summer.
· Family visits are not allowed, which means that the prisoners are not supplied with money to buy supplies from the canteen. They also cannot receive clothes from their relatives.
Ramle Prison:
Four Palestinian female children are currently detained in Ramle (Neve Tertze) prison. The girls are detained with other female Palestinian political prisoners and are subject to similar forms of torture and ill-treatment as found in Telmond Prison. The names of the four girls are: Asma Mahmoud, from Tulkarem, 16 years old, Nisreen Abu Zeina, Tulkarem, 17 years old, Fidaa’ Ghannam, Hebron, 14 years old, Rabaa’ Hamael, 14 years old (See OMCT cases ISR 111001.VAW/CC, ISR 111001.1.VAW/CC, ISR 230701CC, ISR 230701.1.CC). DCI/PS continues to represent 18-year old Su’ad Ghazal from Sebastia village who was arrested when she was 15 years old and remains incarcerated in Ramle (Cases ISR 251199.5.CC, ISR 251199.1.2.3.4 and 5.CC).
Background information on Israeli legal provisions prohibiting the use of torture against detainees
On 6 September 1999, the Israeli High Court passed a ruling that made illegal several interrogation methods that seemed to be authorised and allegedly frequently used by the General Security Services (GSS), now known as the Israel Security Agency. Those methods include: (1) restraining in very painful conditions, (2) hooding under special conditions, (3) sounding of loud music for prolonged periods, (4) sleep deprivation for prolonged periods, (5) threats, including death threats, (6) violent shaking, and (7) using cold air to chill.
It should be noted that according to the information received, the majority of torture now is not carried out by the ISA, but rather by Israeli police, soldiers and military police in detention centres located in Israeli settlements and military camps. Palestinian children are subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture by all three of the above mentioned groups.
Initial reports suggested that the use of torture declined or stopped in the days immediately after the High Court ruling. Subsequent reports, however, show a resurgence of the use of torture and other ill-treatment having now become more intense since the Palestinian Uprising (Intifada) began in September 2000. Children detainees have been no exception to this disturbing trend. Moreover, according to the information from DCI/PS, more insidious methods are being used more frequently, including more psychologically focused techniques such as the use of isolation, using Palestinian collaborators to extract confessions, or pressuring children to collaborate with the Israeli military.
OMCT is gravely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of all Palestinian children, and especially those currently detained. OMCT recalls that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Israel is party, calls for state parties to ensure that “no child is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” and furthermore that “every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the best interest of the child not to do so.”
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. put an immediate end to all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in accordance with national and international legislation;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all Palestinian children being held in Israel;
iii. place the children (any persons below the age of 18) in a separate section from criminal and adult prisoners, except when it is in the best interests of the child to detain them together;
iv. guarantee an immediate investigation into the alleged use of illegal interrogation methods and physical ill-treatment on the children, identify those responsible, bring them before an ordinary competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national and international human rights standards, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, Jerusalem 91007, Israel. Fax:(+ 972 2) 651 2631/566 48 38 / 691 79 15
· Meir Shitrit, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax: (+ 972 2) 62 8 54 38 or + 972 2 628 8618
· Eli Yishai, Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior, Fax: 00972 2 670 1411
· Shimon Peres, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fax:(+ 972 2) 530 3704, E-mail: sar@mofa.gov.il
· The Supreme Court of Justice, Kiryat Ben Gurion, Jerusalem, Israel. Fax: (+ 972 2) 652 71 18
· Chief Military Attorney, Brigadier Menahem Finkelstein, Lishkat HaPatzar, HaKirya, Tel Aviv, Fax: (+972 3) 569 20 94
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, 31 May 2002.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Case ISR 050401.2 CC
Follow up to case ISR 050401.CC
Torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment and punishment in detention
Geneva, 31 May 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by DCI, Palestine section (DCI/PS), a member of the OMCT network, that detainees, including children, are still subject to torture and other ill-treatment in Israeli detention centres. This abuse includes beating, being handcuffed and blindfolded for extended periods of time, severe lack of food or no food, no access to medical treatment, being forced to sleep outside with shortages of, or no, bedding and repeated psychological and physical abuse. If released, detainees are taken to outlying areas in the middle of the night where they are left in dangerous situations without means of getting home.
Palestinian children are mainly detained in three main prisons in Israel; one of which, Megiddo prison, is under the administration of the Israeli military forces; the other two, Telmond and Ramle (Neve Tertze) prisons, are under the administration of the Israeli Prison Authority. Palestinian boy children who have reached the age of 16 at the time of their arrest are detained in Megiddo prison and are detained as adults. Palestinian male children who are below the age of 16 at the time of their arrest are detained in Telmond prison. Palestinian female child prisoners are detained in Ramle (Neve Terze) prison for women.
Megiddo Prison:
Today there are 870 detainees in Megiddo, including approximately 100 children. According to DCI/PS, a major issue facing the children in Megiddo is the attempt by the Israeli intelligence to recruit collaborators from amongst them to work with the Israeli army in return for reducing their punishment. Numerous detained Palestinian children also have alleged that they had been physically and psychologically pressured to collaborate with the Israeli authorities.
The following three children also provided testimonies to the DCI/PS lawyer:
Sultan Abdul Jabber Maadi, 16 years old, was arrested on 20 March 2002 at 12:30am at his house. He was transferred from his house to Etzion Detention Center in the Israeli settlement of Gush Etzion and accused of stone throwing. Sultan said that the interrogators tied his hands and legs, blindfolded him and beat him on his chest. The beating continued repeatedly throughout the interrogation for 24 hours. At the end he confessed to throwing stones at soldiers. Sultan said that the soldier presented an affidavit which stated that Sultan threw stones at him.
At the end of the interrogation he was taken to a small 2mx2m isolation cell in Etzion and was kept there for 16 days. Afterwards he was transferred to Megiddo Prison. He has been prevented from receiving family visits. Because he lacks clothes, he is forced to borrow clothes from other prisoners. He also stated that the Red Cross has not yet visited him.
Jaafar Rasmi Ali Al Asmar, 17 years old, was arrested on 9 January 2002 at 3:30am. He was taken to Maale Adumim settlement and accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a military jeep. Jaafar said that his hands were tied and policemen and interrogators beat him on his legs and stomach. The interrogation continued until 9am. He confessed and signed an affidavit written in Hebrew. On the same day he was taken to Etzion Prison and placed in a small 2mx2m isolation cell for one month and then transferred to Megiddo. He has also been prevented from receiving family visits, lacks clothes and is unaware of when he will be brought to court.
Qassem Farid Abu Awda Jaber, 17 years old, was arrested on 25 May 2001 on Shalaa street in Hebron at 10 am. He was arrested and accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers. During interrogation, Israeli soldiers slapped him on his face and tied his hands, yet he refused to confess to any of their accusations. Three soldiers claimed they witnessed him throwing a Molotov cocktail at them.
They took him to Majnouna prison and on the way they beat him severely on his stomach and back and pulled at his hair. He stayed in Majnouna prison for 21 days and afterwards was transferred to Megiddo. Qassem reports that he has had no family visits since August 2001 due to the fact that the prison administration has banned prison visits. The Red Cross has visited twice and provided him with some clothes yet he continues to lack proper clothing.
Telmond Prison:
According to DCI/PS, 67 Palestinian children are now kept in the combined section 7 and 8 of Telmond prison and between 15-20 are detained alongside Israeli juvenile criminal prisoners in another section. Following a lawyer’s visit to the prison, DCI/PS highlighted the following deplorable living conditions of detention (See OMCT cases ISR 270901.CC, ISR 270901.1 CC):
· Three prisoners are held in every 2m x 2m room which contains a toilet. One of the prisoners is forced to sleep on the ground and there is inadequate bedding material.
· The rooms have small windows which are covered by iron. Thus there is no airflow into the rooms, which is particularly difficult in summer.
· Family visits are not allowed, which means that the prisoners are not supplied with money to buy supplies from the canteen. They also cannot receive clothes from their relatives.
Ramle Prison:
Four Palestinian female children are currently detained in Ramle (Neve Tertze) prison. The girls are detained with other female Palestinian political prisoners and are subject to similar forms of torture and ill-treatment as found in Telmond Prison. The names of the four girls are: Asma Mahmoud, from Tulkarem, 16 years old, Nisreen Abu Zeina, Tulkarem, 17 years old, Fidaa’ Ghannam, Hebron, 14 years old, Rabaa’ Hamael, 14 years old (See OMCT cases ISR 111001.VAW/CC, ISR 111001.1.VAW/CC, ISR 230701CC, ISR 230701.1.CC). DCI/PS continues to represent 18-year old Su’ad Ghazal from Sebastia village who was arrested when she was 15 years old and remains incarcerated in Ramle (Cases ISR 251199.5.CC, ISR 251199.1.2.3.4 and 5.CC).
Background information on Israeli legal provisions prohibiting the use of torture against detainees
On 6 September 1999, the Israeli High Court passed a ruling that made illegal several interrogation methods that seemed to be authorised and allegedly frequently used by the General Security Services (GSS), now known as the Israel Security Agency. Those methods include: (1) restraining in very painful conditions, (2) hooding under special conditions, (3) sounding of loud music for prolonged periods, (4) sleep deprivation for prolonged periods, (5) threats, including death threats, (6) violent shaking, and (7) using cold air to chill.
It should be noted that according to the information received, the majority of torture now is not carried out by the ISA, but rather by Israeli police, soldiers and military police in detention centres located in Israeli settlements and military camps. Palestinian children are subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture by all three of the above mentioned groups.
Initial reports suggested that the use of torture declined or stopped in the days immediately after the High Court ruling. Subsequent reports, however, show a resurgence of the use of torture and other ill-treatment having now become more intense since the Palestinian Uprising (Intifada) began in September 2000. Children detainees have been no exception to this disturbing trend. Moreover, according to the information from DCI/PS, more insidious methods are being used more frequently, including more psychologically focused techniques such as the use of isolation, using Palestinian collaborators to extract confessions, or pressuring children to collaborate with the Israeli military.
OMCT is gravely concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of all Palestinian children, and especially those currently detained. OMCT recalls that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Israel is party, calls for state parties to ensure that “no child is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” and furthermore that “every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the best interest of the child not to do so.”
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. put an immediate end to all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in accordance with national and international legislation;
ii. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all Palestinian children being held in Israel;
iii. place the children (any persons below the age of 18) in a separate section from criminal and adult prisoners, except when it is in the best interests of the child to detain them together;
iv. guarantee an immediate investigation into the alleged use of illegal interrogation methods and physical ill-treatment on the children, identify those responsible, bring them before an ordinary competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all children throughout the country in accordance with national and international human rights standards, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, Jerusalem 91007, Israel. Fax:(+ 972 2) 651 2631/566 48 38 / 691 79 15
· Meir Shitrit, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax: (+ 972 2) 62 8 54 38 or + 972 2 628 8618
· Eli Yishai, Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior, Fax: 00972 2 670 1411
· Shimon Peres, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Fax:(+ 972 2) 530 3704, E-mail: sar@mofa.gov.il
· The Supreme Court of Justice, Kiryat Ben Gurion, Jerusalem, Israel. Fax: (+ 972 2) 652 71 18
· Chief Military Attorney, Brigadier Menahem Finkelstein, Lishkat HaPatzar, HaKirya, Tel Aviv, Fax: (+972 3) 569 20 94
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, 31 May 2002.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.