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Israel
854. By letter dated 5 August 2004, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning:
855. Amad Sherif. He was arrested at his home on 12 January 2003 and brought to the Ofer Detention Camp. Soon afterwards he was transferred to the General Security Service (GSS) Interrogation Unit at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem, then to the Kishon Detention Centre, and later to the Eshel Prison. An Order Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel was imposed against Amad Sherif following his arrest. He was held in incommunicado detention until 20 January 2004. In a sworn affidavit on 27 June 2004, Amad Sherif stated that at the Ofer Detention Camp his interrogators threatened to use "military interrogation" because he was a "ticking bomb". He stated that the interrogators slapped him on several occasions, and forced him to sit with his back bent (the so-called "banana method") for a half an hour at a time. During his first three days at the Russian Compound Detention Centre he was forced to sit with his back bent backwards, and his interrogators tightened his handcuffs until he needed medical attention. The interrogators forced him to lean against a wall with his legs bent until he collapsed from the pain. He was also forced to squat for more than one hour. He stated that the interrogators threatened to arrest his family and deport them to Gaza. One week following his arrest, the interrogators let him see his mother through his cell door, and he was told that she was under arrest and would remain in detention until he confessed.
856. M. A. F. S., 16 years old. At around 2 pm on 24 April 2003, in a taxi on the way to school, he was arrested by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) near Kfar Geva, Jenin. The soldiers handcuffed him, stripped him of his clothes down to his underpants, and hit him all over his body and on the head. They tightened his handcuffs so much that the marks were still visible two and a half months later. While they were transporting him blindfolded to the prison facility at Araba, the soldiers beat him again. When they arrived, they threw him into the camp with his hands and feet tightly handcuffed. M.A. F. S. was left that way until 10 pm, without receiving any food or drink. He was then transferred to the Salem detention facility. There, four soldiers beat him using the butts of their rifles and sticks on the head, face, stomach and legs until he bled. The beatings lasted until 2 am. M. A. F. S. was subsequently taken to the Kishon Detention Centre, where he was questioned for three hours while seated on a small chair, with his hands and feet handcuffed and his body bent backwards. After this, he was put in solitary confinement for one week. During this time he was interrogated twice, once for six hours and once for three hours. He was then taken to the Megiddo Prison. After having been held there for 15 days in a tent with 20 other prisoners, he was sent back to the Kishon Detention Centre for another week in solitary confinement. On the seventh day of detention there, he was taken for an interrogation that lasted from 10 am to 5 pm. During this interrogation, he was placed seated with his back stretched backwards, and the interrogator kicked him in the legs. The following day, he was again interrogated for three hours, seated in the same position. The kicks that he received made it difficult for him to stand. He was taken back to his cell, where he remained until 20 June 2003, when he was taken to the Sharon Prison, where he is still being held.
857. Osama Abu-Hin, 28 years old. Around 11.30 am on 1 May 2003, IDF soldiers broke into his home in the Al Shajaiya neighbourhood in Gaza City and killed three members of his family while arresting him, along with Yasser Abu Hin, a 25-year-old journalist. The soldiers tied Osama Abu-Hin’s hands with tight handcuffs, covered his eyes and transferred him to the Erez detention facility where he was kept in a 2m2 cell together with two, and sometimes three, other persons. There was no toilet in the cell and the detainees were forced to use a bucket in the corner, resulting in extremely bad odours. The cell had no artificial light or mattresses and the inmates had to sleep on the floor. The cell also had only one window without glass, thus exposing the inmates to the elements, flies and mosquitoes. While at the Erez detention facility, Osama Abu-Hin was interrogated by the GSS officers three times, each session lasting four hours. His interrogators threatened him with violence, sexual harassment and sodomy if he did not confess to the crimes he was charged with. During the last eight days of his detention in the Erez facility, Osama Abu-Hin was kept in solitary confinement. On 18 May, he was transferred to the Shikma detention centre in Ashkelon. In the Shikma detention centre he was interrogated daily from 10 am until 8 pm. During the sessions Osama Abu-Hin was seated on a low stool, his back bent backwards, with his hands and legs tied in tight-fitting chains, which drew blood. This technique is known as "Shabeh." His interrogators slapped him on the face and threatened to demolish his home and arrest the members of his family if he did not confess. Mr. Abu-Hin is currently being detained at the Ketziot Detention Facility in the Negev.
858. M. A., aged 17, Azariya. On 4 September 2003 at 1 am, he was arrested and taken to the Ma’ale Adumim police station on suspicion of throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. At the time of his arrest, M. A.’s mother gave medical reports to the soldiers, stating that he was recovering from cancer and required regular check-ups, but the soldiers tore them up. He was then taken to the Atzion military detention centre, where four policemen in plain clothes beat him on the face, hands, legs and feet. They tied his hands and legs with cuffs and opened his legs with force to hit him on and around his genitals. A soldier pulled him by the hair and administered electric shocks by placing electrical cords on his body. A dog was brought in to scare him. Throughout the interrogation he was subjected to verbal abuse. M. A. was forced to sign a statement, which was not translated. Upon experiencing chest pains a doctor was brought in and advised him to drink one litre of water per day, without an examination. In detention he was denied medication and treatment for his existing health condition. M. A. was held in a small, dark and damp cell with up to eight persons. Small quantities of food of poor quality were provided.
859. R. A. A. N., aged 13, Jericho. On 28 September 2003 at midnight, he was arrested at the Ma’ale Adumim checkpoint and taken to the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and interrogated. He was beaten during the interrogation by soldiers and then moved to the Atzion detention centre. For two days R. A. A. N. was kept in solitary confinement in a cage. After that he was put into a cell packed with other prisoners.
860. By letter dated 5 August 2004, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning Facility 1391, located in military base 1391, outside of Tel Aviv. According to the allegations received:
861. The secret facility is used for the interrogation of Arab prisoners, who are held incommunicado and in total isolation, in some cases for months and even years. Access to the facility by family members, lawyers, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross, is denied. The detainees are not informed where they are held, but have been told: "you are on the moon", "you are in a grave", "you are outside Israel", "in a submarine", "in space", "on another planet" in order to deepen the sense of abandonment. They are placed in small, damp, windowless cells with walls painted dark, and a low buzzing noise playing constantly. Some cells have no toilets, but buckets for waste instead, which are emptied every few weeks. Personal hygiene is difficult to maintain because of the lack of running water, soap, clean clothes and towels. The mattresses are damp and filthy. It is said that the clothes and bedding are insufficient to protect against the cold. When taken from the cell a sack is put over the detainee’s heads. The soldiers prevent the detainees from sleeping by pounding on the cell doors. Detainees have been forced to undergo severe beatings, including sexual assault, have been held naked for days and photographed, prevented from going to the bathroom, and had threats made against family members. Detainees have testified that they have suffered severe mental distress as a consequence of detention in the facility.
862. By letter dated 30 November 2004, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning:
863. M. H. I. A, aged 16 and his brother, A., aged 13, Gaza. On 11 January 2003, they were wounded and apprehended by members of the IDF and transported to the Soroka Hospital, Beer-Sheva. They were handcuffed to their beds on arrival, were denied access to their parents, and remained restrained to their beds for five days.
864. Riham As’ad Muhammad Sheikh Muss, aged 15. On 23 February 2003, she was hospitalized with injuries to her stomach, intestines and leg at the Meir Hospital, Kfar-Saba, after she was shot by a member of the Israeli Defence Forces. Despite her injuries, she remained handcuffed to her bed for the entire three-week period of hospitalization.
Urgent appeals
865. On 8 April 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the
Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding Mohammed
Kannaneh, aged 38, and Maied Kannaneh, aged 33, both from Arrabeh village, Galilee.
According to the allegations received, they were arrested on 7 February 2004, detained
without charge and prevented from meeting with their lawyers for 21 days. During the first
three weeks of their detention, they were subjected to intensive interrogation by the GSS
personnel. They were deprived of sleep and painfully handcuffed to a chair. They were
indicted on 4 March 2004 for suspected security offences. Since their indictment, they have
been held at the GSS cellblock of the Kishon Detention Centre in a 9m2 large cell with no
windows and hosting up to six detainees. As there are no beds in the cell, the detainees sleep
on mattresses on the floor and use dirty blankets supplied by the Detention Centre. The
detainees are allowed to leave the cell only during visits with their lawyers or for medical
check ups. Although Mohammed Kannaneh and Maied Kannaneh are entitled to receiving the
visit of their lawyers once a day, contact with their relatives has been strictly forbidden. With
a view to protest against these conditions of detentions, the two above-named detainees
undertook a hunger strike. As a result of the reported intensive interrogation sessions, the
alleged poor conditions of detentions and the hunger strike, Mohammed Kannaneh and Maied
Kannaneh are said to be in a poor condition. On 31 March 2004, the Haifa District Court
reportedly denied a motion filed on behalf of the two detainees, which requested an
immediate transfer to another Prison Service facility and the improvement of the conditions of
detention in the GSS cell block. The Haifa District Court reportedly ruled that this petition
would be scheduled for a hearing if the petitioners were not transferred by 13 April 2004.
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This report has been published by Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights on July 27, 2005.