[Pnews] Bone of their Bone: Torture and Ill-Treatment by Palestinian Security Forces

[Prisoner News]

http://www.addameer.org/news/bone-their-bone-torture-and-ill-treatment-palestinian-security-forces 



  Bone of their Bone: Torture and Ill-Treatment by Palestinian Security
  Forces

26 June 2016

On the occasion of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, 
Addameer calls for an end to all practices by the Palestinian Authority 
that amount to torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment. 
In 2014, the Palestinian government signed and ratified several 
international conventions on the protection of human rights, including 
the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment (CAT). Thus, the Palestinian Authority became responsible for  
fulfilling its obligations under the convention by taking “effective 
legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts 
of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction” in accordance with 
the Convention.[1] <http://www.addameer.org/news/#_ftn1>

In 2015-2016, Addameer has documented continued cases of arbitrary 
detention, torture, and ill-treatment during arrest as well as in 
Palestinian prisons, detention and intelligence centers. These practices 
are in contravention with the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as the Convention Against Torture, both 
of which the Palestinian Authority is a party. The arrests have targeted 
university professors, students, journalists, teachers (teacher’s strike 
in February 2016) and civil society activists. The Palestinian 
authority’s ratification of several key international human rights 
treaties in 2014 was welcomed by Addameer and other civil society and 
nongovernmental organizations, as a mechanism for accountability and 
strengthening human rights protection on the ground. However, in recent 
years the Palestinian authority has displayed an alarming lack of 
commitment and political will to implement the provisions of the 
Convention Against Torture. Thus, the Palestinian human rights situation 
of Palestinian prisoners and detainees has deteriorated despite the 
accession to the treaty.

One account from a student who was arrested by Palestinian Intelligence 
forces and detained by Preventative Security Forces on 08 March 2015 
exemplified the targeting and ill-treatment of students with differing 
political opinions, which contravene these conventions:

/“At approximately 10.30 PM the interrogation started… When I refused to 
give any information, he took the chair that I was sitting on and made 
me stand, and the interrogation continued while I was standing on my 
feet until 7.00 AM without food, water, or allowing me to sleep. And 
after 7.00 AM they took me to the cell which was very small, the size of 
a mattress. It had a mattress and a light blanket. It was very dirty and 
cold and I asked them for a thicker blanket and they refused. The cell 
had only one small window and there was no toilet.”/

Another detainee who was arrested on 29 July 2015 by Palestinian 
Intelligence Forces recounted:

/“During one of the interrogation sessions, one of the interrogators 
came to the room which already had five interrogators. One of them was 
hitting me on my shoulders, lightly but repeatedly and after that one of 
the other interrogators hit me on my neck very strongly. And then they 
forced me to put my head against the wall and raise my arms. One of the 
interrogators began repeatedly hitting me strongly on my hips for five 
minutes ”/

Another account by a student in Ramallah who was arrested in 2015 
(affidavit taken on 18 November 2015) described:

/“A Palestinian police officer brought to me a piece of paper that had a 
facebook post of mine on it, which was critical of the Palestinian 
Authority. They asked me to read it. I read the paper and then they 
started hitting me in a barbaric way – as if they were in a brawl. They 
hit me in different ways: kickings, beatings, punching all other the 
body, but especially on my back. This lasted for about 45 minutes… I was 
beaten by more than six police officers and they were constantly 
insulting me verbally. After they finished, they asked me to put my face 
against the wall and to raise one of my legs (shabah). They asked me not 
to move and not to touch the wall… When I was standing some police 
officers would come into the room and start hitting and insulting me.”/

On 01 June 2016 a Palestinian journalist and resident of Birzeit was 
arrested by Palestinian intelligence. He gave the following account of 
his experience:

/“At approximately 9.30 PM while I was leaving my house in Birzeit, two 
cars with Palestinian license plates, one of which was a rental and the 
other was a regular car, tried to pass me in driving and suddenly I 
heard the sound of gunshots. I stopped because they were shooting and 
screaming at me. 4-5 intelligence personnel in civilian clothing 
attacked my car. They forced me to step outside the car. They started 
shouting at me and they forced me to get in their car without even 
telling me who they were. While they were taking me, one of them pressed 
very hard on my neck until we reached the Intelligence Centre in 
Ramallah… Interrogation started at approximately 10.30 PM. My hands were 
cuffed behind my back. I was blindfolded and the interrogation lasted 
for six hours while I was standing. Most of the questions were about the 
nature of my work as a journalist and they were threatening to put me in 
prison for a long period of time… One of the interrogators said to me, 
“you will rot here”… /

The detainee furthermore described his medical negligence and assault 
despite his chronic health condition:

/“I told them I had heart problems so they did medical examinations and 
the doctor recommended that I should go to the Ramallah hospital and 
there the doctor said to the intelligence forces that I should stay 
under observation but they refused and half an hour later they took me 
out of the hospital and one of the intelligence forces pushed me roughly 
and caused me to fall to the floor of the car which was very painful and 
I had already been feeling dizzy and unbalanced. They began to hit my on 
the head with their hands and pushing me on the chair of the car.”/

Furthermore, these acts of torture and ill-treatment contravene Article 
13 of the Palestinian Basic Law, which states that prisoners and 
detainees should be treated properly and should not be subjected to 
torture or ill-treatment. The violations of this law are crimes that 
necessitate accountability for perpetrators and remedies for victims. 
Thus, the Palestinian authority and its security and intelligence 
personnel must abide by the provisions of national legislation and those 
of the Convention Against Torture.

Addameer further underlines that, “No exceptional circumstances 
whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal 
political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a 
justification of torture.”[2] <http://www.addameer.org/news/#_ftn2>

Addameer considers the actions of the Palestinian Security Forces to be 
in contravention with the Convention Against Torture and other 
international human rights treaties. These treaties prohibit the use of 
torture and ill-treatment against detainees and affirm the right of 
individuals to fair trial guarantees. Addameer condemns the use of 
torture and ill-treatment under any circumstances and considers this to 
be a non-derogable prohibition, to which individuals must be held 
accountable.

Addameer holds that the Palestinian Authority must comply with the 
conventions to which it is a party, especially considering the ongoing 
deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian 
territories. Addameer further calls upon the Palestinian government to 
sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture 
(entered into force on 22 June 2006).  Addameer also calls upon the 
Palestinian Authority to define the crime of torture in its criminal 
code as it is defined by the Convention and to guarantee accountability 
for perpetrators of torture in its legislation.


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[1] <http://www.addameer.org/news/#_ftnref1> UN General Assembly, 
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment, 10 December 1984, United Nations, Treaty 
Series, vol. 1465, p. 85, available at: 
http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3a94.html [accessed 26 June 2016]. 
Article 2.

[2] <http://www.addameer.org/news/#_ftnref2> UN General Assembly, 
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment, 10 December 1984, United Nations, Treaty 
Series, vol. 1465, p. 85, available at: 
http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3a94.html [accessed 26 June 2016]. 
Article 2.

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