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<h1><font size=4><b>700 doctors demand the removal of WMA president for
involvement in
torture</b></font></h1><font size=3>
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http://www.imemc.org/article/60914<br>
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Tuesday June 23, 2009
13:30<img src="http://www.imemc.org/graphics/person.gif" width=14 height=12 alt="author">
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC
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</font>700 doctors from 43 countries sent a letter of protest to the Word
Medical Association (WMA), which is considered the WMA’s governing body,
demanding the removal of the newly appointed president, an Israeli
doctor, for ignoring the participation of medical staff in the torture of
Palestinian prisoners, the Guardian reported. <br><br>
The Israeli doctor, Yoram Blachar, has been the head of the Israeli
Medical Association since 1995, and became the head of the WMA of
November of last year. <br><br>
The physicians, who signed the protest letter, are senior professors and
physicians from England, Europe and the United States. <br><br>
They stated that Blachar had failed to respond to charges that a number
of Israeli doctors are involved in the torture of Palestinian detainees
during interrogation in Israeli prisons. <br><br>
In 1996, the Amnesty International reported that doctors, working with
the Israeli security services, are taking part in torturing Palestinian
detainees, mistreating and humiliating them in a manner that violates
medical ethics. <br><br>
Pediatrician Alan Meyers, from Boston University School of Medicine, in
the United States, said that the presidency of Blachar to the WMA mocks
the principles of the association which was founded in 1947. <br><br>
A 1975 declaration in Japan states all Physicians in all situations
should not participate of help in torture or any form of cruel, inhuman
or degrading procedures, including in armed conflicts and civil
unrest. <br><br>
In its annual meeting two years ago, the institution decided that all
doctors are obliged to document cases of torture they are aware of, and
that the lack of documenting such cases would be considered tolerance to
torture, and lack of assistance to the victims. <br><br>
The Guardian said that Blachar sent an email to it promising to
respond to the allegations, and described the news as baseless imaginary
allegations. <br><br>
In 1997, Blachar sent a letter to the Lancet medical Journal
defending the participation of physicians in torturing Palestinian
detainees in Israeli prisons. <br><br>
In his letter, Blachar claimed that ‘moderate physical pressure’,
similar to the torture sanctioned by the Bush Administration against
Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and other CIA black sites in several countries,
‘does not violate the international law’. <br><br>
This so-called ‘moderate’ torture used by the CIA includes beating the
detainees, depriving them from sleeping, isolating them, subjecting them
to extreme hot and cold, humiliating them in addition to various illegal
methods. <br><br>
Meyers, who is also Jewish and well known for his stances for human
rights in Israel since many years, stated that physicians who are
involved in torture should not be allowed to practice medicine, and
should be held accountable for their participation in torture. <br><br>
In June 26 of 2008, the Israeli Physicians For Human Rights published a
report accusing Israeli doctors of ignoring the human rights of the
Palestinian detainees.<br><br>
It is worth mentioning that dozens of Palestinian detainees died
due to torture, dozens more died due to medical negligence, while
hundreds of detainees are currently in urgent need for medical care,
including cancer patients, and detainees who suffer chronic illnesses and
disabilities, but are not receiving the needed medical
treatment. <br><br>
<br><br>
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