Report on torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians in Israeli detention
DCI-Palestine is one of 14 Palestinian and Israeli organisations which make up the United Against Torture Coalition (UAT) seeking to eradicate torture and ill-treatment in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In November 2008, UAT released its 2008 Annual Report: Torture and Ill-Treatment in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
In its report, UAT highlighted the mass detention of over 700,000 Palestinians since the start of the occupation in 1967, with approximately 9,000 currently in detention, including around 70 women and 327 children.
The report details the arrest, interrogation and detention of Palestinians by the Israeli military and the brutality which often accompanies this process. Of particular concern to the coalition is the fact that Palestinians, including children as young as 12, are interrogated in the absence of a lawyer, and in the case of children, without a parent being present.
Through the use of extracts from affidavits, the report sheds light on some of the more common forms of torture and ill-treatment that are commonly used against Palestinian detainees, ranging from physical violence to the use of threats.
The report also deals with the ongoing practice of the Israeli army to hold Palestinians in administrative detention without charge or trial. This form of detention deprives a person of the opportunity to challenge the basis of their detention in any meaningful way as much of the evidence is ‘secret’. Administrative detention orders can be issued by an Israeli military commander for up to six months, and renewed every six months, indefinitely. The detainee never knows how long he or she will ultimately be detained for and the orders are often renewed on the day of the anticipated release. There are currently at least 569 Palestinians in administrative detention, including five children, two of whom are girls, Sara and Salwa.
The report also raises concern that the State of Israel has recently amended its Criminal Procedure Law which requires that interrogations be audio and visually recorded. The amendment permits the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and Police to interrogate suspects in ‘security offences’ without this basic safeguard. It is Palestinians who are predominantly investigated for security offences.
UAT continues to be concerned at the level of impunity in Israel for those alleged to have engaged in torture. Between 2001 and 2006, over 500 complaints were filed against ISA interrogators for alleged ill-treatment and torture. There were no criminal investigations.
The report is available on line in English, Arabic and Hebrew.
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