[Ppnews] Israeli prisons use beatings and sleep deprivation to coerce confessions

[Political Prisoner News]

Israeli prisons use beatings and sleep deprivation to coerce confessions
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1813

(Bethlehem) Najib Farag
Thursday, 01 March 2007

Four young men from the Bethlehem District reported similar abuse to 
Palestinian Prisoner Society lawyers this week. Nabil Omar and Hamza 
Mahasiri from Bethlehem City, Nidal Afaneh from Beit Jala and Omar 
Khader Aljowi of Aida Refugee Camp spent four weeks in the Israeli 
detention center Al Mascobia, or the Russian Compound.

Lawyer Mamoun Hashim interviewed the young men separately and all 
reported that they had been repeatedly beaten and threatened during 
the period of interrogation in order to extract confessions.

These are common charges against the Israeli administration, reports 
the PPS based on hundreds of case studies.

Although in most court systems confessions obtained under duress or 
through coercion would not be admissible, Israeli military court and 
the prison system do not adhere to international norms when dealing 
with Palestinians. Neither the accused nor their lawyers are allowed 
to view evidence used against them and hundreds are held without 
charge or trial, sometimes for years.

The Bethlehem detainees all reported being beaten with sticks and 
punched with fists, in addition to undergoing sleep deprivation and 
denial of toilet access for lengthy periods.

Attorney Hashim said Thursday that Palestinians in the Russian 
Compound regularly report abuse and torture during the interrogation 
period and do often say whatever it takes to stop the pain.


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