[Pnews] Bone of their Bone: Torture and Ill-Treatment by Palestinian Security Forces
Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Mon Jun 27 10:06:14 EDT 2016
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[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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