[Ppnews] Torturing Palestinian Detainees

[Political Prisoner News]

http://www.counterpunch.org/lendman11142007.html

November 14, 2007


 From the "Frog" to the "Banana" Position


Torturing Palestinian Detainees

By STEPHEN LENDMAN

B'Tselem is the conservative Israeli Information Center for Human 
Rights in the Occupied Territories with a well-deserved reputation 
for accuracy. A group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists 
and Knesset members founded the organization in 1989 to "document and 
educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights 
violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of 
denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human 
rights culture in Israel" to convince government officials to respect 
human rights and comply with international law.

Its work covers a wide range of human rights issues that include 
detentions and torture. In May, 2007, it prepared a detailed 100 page 
report titled "Absolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-treatment of 
Palestinian Detainees" that's now available in print for those who 
request it. This article summarizes its findings that represent a 
joint effort by B'Tselem and HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the 
Individual that was founded in 1988 to support Palestinian rights 
during the first intifada in the late 1980s.

Since the early 1990s, B'Tselem published more than ten reports on 
Israelis' use of torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees. 
This is the latest one in an effort to raise public awareness and 
help abolish these abhorrent practices. The findings are based on 
testimonies solicited from a small "unrepresentative" sample of 73 
Palestinian West Bank residents who were arrested between July, 2005 
and January, 2006, agreed to tell their stories, and who met 
predetermined criteria for the study.

They were chosen from the names of 4460 Palestinian detainees whose 
relatives contacted HaMoked for help to locate their whereabouts. 
HaMoked provides this service because Israel violates international 
law and its own military regulations by denying family members any 
information about who was detained or where they're being held. From 
its many years investigating Israeli torture, B'Tselem believes the 
information in this report accurately reflects the types and extent 
of Israeli abusive practices.

Torture, abuse or degrading treatment are abhorrent in any form for 
any reason, and long-standing international law forbids these 
practices under all circumstances. The four 1949 Geneva Conventions 
banned any form of "physical or mental coercion" and affirmed sick, 
wounded, war prisoners and civilians must be treated humanely. All 
four conventions have a common thread called Common Article Three 
that requires all non-combatants to be treated humanely at all times. 
There are no exceptions for any reasons, and violations are grave 
breaches of Geneva and other international law that constitute crimes 
of war and against humanity.

Nonetheless, the 1987 Landau Commission (headed by retired Israeli 
Supreme Court Chief Justice Moshe Landau) cited the "necessary 
defense" provision in the Penal Law to recommend using "psychological 
and moderate physical pressure," to obtain evidence for convictions 
in criminal proceedings. Its justification was that coercive 
interrogation tactics were necessary against "hostile terrorist 
activity" it defined to include not just threats or acts of violence 
but all activities related to Palestinian nationalism.

Later in September, 1999, Israel's High Court of Justice (HCJ) 
responded to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel's 
petition (PCATI) and issued a landmark decision (reversing Landau 
recommendations) and barred the use of torture against detainees. It 
was, however, a hollow gesture as at the same time it ruled pressure 
and a measure of discomfort were legitimate interrogation 
side-effects but should not be used to break a detainee's spirit. It 
then added a giant loophole allowing interrogators to use physical 
force and avoid prosecutions in "ticking time bomb" cases even though 
international law allows no exceptions, and Israeli authorities could 
claim that excuse for anyone in custody.

Since its occupation of Gaza and the West Bank (the OPT) in 1967, 
Israel imprisoned over 650,000 Palestinians according to the 
Palestinian peace and justice group MIFTA. That's equivalent to about 
one-sixth of the OPT's population today. The security services 
currently hold around ten to twelve thousand Palestinian men, women 
and children in its prisons under deplorable conditions with many 
under administrative detention without charge. Based on earlier 
assessments by Hamoked, B'Tselem estimates as many as 85% of them are 
subjected to torture and mistreatment in custody even though most of 
them aren't accused of terrorism. These practices are routinely and 
systematically used against political activists, students accused of 
being pro-Islam, sheikhs and religious leaders, people in Islamic 
charitable organizations, relatives of wanted individuals or any man, 
woman or child Israel targets for any reason.

B'Tselem's May, 2007 report states that the Israeli Security Agency 
(ISA - formerly called the General Security Service or GSS) admits to 
using "exceptional" methods that include "physical pressure" of 
interrogation in "ticking bomb" cases that can be used as an excuse 
to abuse anyone. In addition, law enforcement officials openly admit 
harsh measures are approved retroactively so that Palestinian 
detainee rights can be freely violated without fear of recrimination. 
In other words, ISA interrogators know the rules - don't ask 
permission, use any methods you wish, and don't worry about the 
consequences after the fact. There won't be any, and it shows in what 
detainees told B'Tselem.

They reported being "softened up" for interrogation from the moment 
of their arrest to when ISA agents took over. Abuses at the outset 
included beatings, painful binding, swearing, humiliation and denial 
of basic needs. The ISA procedure then included seven key forms of 
abuse that violated the detainees' dignity and bodily integrity. They 
were inflicted to break their spirit, but international law calls it 
torture when it includes verified intent, severe pain or suffering, 
improper motive, and involvement of the state. All those conditions 
apply to Israeli abusive practices that included:

-- isolation that prohibited detainees from contact with family, an 
attorney or ICRC representatives; this exacerbated detainees' sense 
of powerlessness by creating a situation in which they're completely 
at the mercy of interrogators; it's also known to cause them serious 
psychological harm when continued for extended periods;

-- psychological pressure from solitary confinement in "putrid, 
stifling cells three to six square meters in size" with no windows or 
access to daylight and fresh air; a fixed overhead light on 24 hours 
a day; walls made of rough plaster making them uncomfortable or 
impossible to lean against; a water faucet on one wall and some cells 
with sinks; a usually dirty and damp mattress and "filthy putrid" 
blankets on the floor; nothing else in cells; reading and writing 
materials not allowed; in many cells, toilets were holes in the 
floor; detainees denied all human contact except for guards and interrogators.

-- physical conditions in solitary confinement cells are regulated in 
Criminal Procedure Regulations issued by Israel's Minister of 
Internal Security with the approval of the Knesset Constitution, Law 
and Justice Committee; they don't apply to "security detainees," 
however, so cells have no bed, chairs and most often no sink; nothing 
else provided including use of a telephone and right to have visitors 
provide items; cells were too small to walk around in, and no daily 
outside exercise was allowed;

-- detainees weakened from lack of physical activity, sleep 
deprivation and inadequate food; they're denied basic needs like food 
and liquids, medicines or the right to relieve themselves; throughout 
long hours of interrogation, they're shackled to a chair unable to 
move hands or legs even minimally; they had nutritional deficiencies 
and food received was inadequate, cold, improperly cooked, flavorless 
and often repulsive in appearance; many detainees resisted eating as 
long as possible;

-- shackling in the "shabah" position that's the prolonged and 
painful binding of detainees' hands and feet to a standard-sized 
unupholstered, metal frame, rigid plastic chair fixed to the floor 
with no armrests; hands tightly bound behind the back in adjustable 
plastic handcuffs and connected to a ring at the back of the seat to 
stretch them uncomfortably below the backrest; legs bound to the 
chair's front legs; detainees were unable to get up throughout 
interrogation that on average lasted eight consecutive hours without 
a break and on the first day ran 12 hours; later in the interrogation 
period, sessions shortened to four or five hours;

-- interrogations only for a small portion of this time; for most if 
it, interrogators were out of the room; at those times air 
conditioning turned up to uncomfortably cold levels; most often only 
one meal served during a day's interrogation; very sparing toilet 
privileges allowed; nearly all detainees complained of severe back, 
neck, shoulder, arms and wrist pain during interrogation; numbness or 
loss of sensation in limbs also reported; the Israeli High Court of 
Justice (HCJ) ruled in 1999 that all "shabah" shackling procedures 
are unlawful since they violate rules for "reasonable and fair 
interrogation" and injure detainees' dignity and well-being; ISA 
interrogators ignore the ruling with impunity;

-- cursing and humiliating strip searches of detainees as well as 
shouting, spitting in the face and other related abusive practices; 
detainees forced to strip naked and submit to body searches while 
being yelled at and mocked;

-- intimidations made to include threats of physical torture (called 
"military interrogation"), arrest of family members and destruction of homes;

-- using informants ("asafirs") to get information that's not abusive 
as such but is a very questionable method following preparatory "softening up."

B'Tselem then discussed "special" interrogation methods that mostly 
involve physical violence:

-- sleep deprivation for 30 to 40 hours during which detainees left 
painfully shackled in interrogation rooms; guards frequently awakened 
detainees between midnight and 5AM; various type oppressive noises 
used at night to interfere with sleep;

-- use of "dry" beatings that included punching, kicking all parts of 
the body, striking with rifle butts and face slapping; detainees hit 
with clubs, helmets and other objects; heads slammed against a wall, 
floor or hard surface; beatings inflicted when detainees' hands were 
bound behind their back, and they were blindfolded; additional 
beatings during physical inspections with their hands cuffed;

-- painful binding with handcuffs or other devices tight enough to 
cut off blood flow circulation and cause swelling;

-- sharp twisting of the head forcefully and suddenly sideways or backwards;

-- forced "frog" crouching on tiptoes with cuffed hands behind the 
back accompanied by shoving or beating until detainees lost their 
balance and fell forward or backward; this method inflicts pain by 
increasing pressure on leg muscles and also hurts wrists after falling;

-- use of forced "banana" position that involves bending the back in 
a painful arch while the body is extended horizontally to the floor 
on a backless chair with arms and feet bound beneath it.

Prison killings also occur like the October 22 one at the notorious 
Ketziot Detention Center in the Negev desert where 2300 Palestinians 
are held under very harsh conditions. It happened at 2AM when prison 
guards began searching tents and strip-searching inmates in a 
deliberate middle of the night provocation. Prisoners resisted and 
about 550 members of the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) Metsada riot 
dispersal unit responded with excessive force by beating them with 
plastic clubs and rifle butts as well as firing rubber-coated 
bullets, live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades that set tents 
ablaze and caused as many as 250 inmate injuries and at least nine 
serious ones. During the assault, Mohammed Al Ashqar was killed after 
being shot in the head.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) maintains that 
prisoner abuse, repressive tactics and killing Palestinians is 
official Israeli policy that's become even worse under current IPS 
director, Beni Kaniak. PCHR reports he instituted these punitive measures:

-- reductions in food and cleaning materials rations;

-- additional items prisoners forbidden to have;

-- confiscated prisoners' money and prevented none sent from families 
to reach them;

-- widespread use of solitary confinement;

-- periodic movement of prisoners to new facilities to prevent any 
sense of stability;

-- repeated unannounced harsh late night raids like the October 22 
one at Ketziot.

These tactics and Palestinian detainee torture and abuse are condoned 
"under the auspices of the Israeli law enforcement system." B'Tselem 
reported since 2001, Israel's State Attorney's Office got over 500 
complaints of these practices but investigated none of them. Overall, 
instances of detainee mistreatment are rarely looked into and even 
fewer ever result in indictments. Further, despite its 1999 ruling, 
Israel's High Court of Justice (HCJ) aids ISA interrogations by 
refusing to accept even one of hundreds of petitions brought before 
it for redress. HCJ also lets ISA conceal information from detainees 
that abusive orders were issued against them or that legal petitions 
were filed on their behalf. It further allows evidence obtained under 
torture to be used in criminal proceedings.

B'Tselem and HaMoked are committed to ending Israel's use of torture 
against Palestinian detainees. They cite the example of the US Army's 
September, 2006 Field Manual for Human Intelligence Collector 
Operations as a proper guide to conducting interrogations even though 
authorized physical and psychological brutality became official 
administration policy under George Bush post-9/11. Nonetheless, this 
manual covers 18 interrogation methods experience showed work under 
varying situations and conditions. They range from establishing trust 
between interrogator and detainee to the use of ruses and 
psychological manipulation. In all cases, they don't involve torture 
or other unlawful practices.

It's one thing to have rules and laws and another to abide by them. 
The US under George Bush condones and practices "the harshest 
interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence 
Agency" according to once secret Department of Justice (DOJ) legal 
opinions. It's no different in Israel where the ISA systematically 
and routinely uses banned interrogation measures with impunity. 
B'Tselem and HaMoked want these practices ended and urge the Israeli 
government to halt them by enacting enforceable laws "strictly 
prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" in 
accordance with international law.

They further recommend every complaint of abuse and torture be 
investigated by an independent body, persons found to have broken the 
law to be prosecuted, and that "every detainee receives minimum 
humane conditions." Israel claims to be a civilized state. It's about 
time it acted like one.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at 
<mailto:lendmanstephen at sbcglobal.net>lendmanstephen at sbcglobal.net.




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