Israel/OPT
24.02.03
Urgent Interventions
Israel: lack of medical assistance results in death of a Palestinian prisoner
Case ISR 240203
Death in detention / Ill-treatment / Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the OMCT network, of the a death in detention of a Palestinian prisoner, following an alleged lack of appropriate medical assistance, as well as continuing ill-treatment and torture of other Palestinian detainees in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
According to the information received, Walid Mohammad Issa Amr (34) from Doura, near Hebron died in the Nafha desert prison in the Negev desert at around 8pm on Wednesday, February 19th, 2003, after what appears to be medical negligence on behalf of the Prisons Administration, according to Walid’s brother, Wael (32). According to Wael, his brother called him at around 8pm on Tuesday and told him of his worsening medical condition and that the prison administration was neglecting his case. Walid was reportedly already ill prior to imprisonment. LAW’s lawyer, Khaled al-Araj was taking Walid Amr’s case.
Walid had been held for approximately 16 months, although he had not been sentenced. He was apparently accused of being a member of the al-Aqsa Martyr’s brigade, a militia connected to Fatah, and of planning to carry out a military operation. Walid was married and had six children, the oldest of whom is 13 years old, with the youngest being one and a half years old. According the Palestinian Prisoners Association (PPA), he was imprisoned on December 12, 2001. The PPA also noted that inmates at Nafha have been on strike for the past four days, by refusing to leave their cells. Around 2,300 Palestinians are currently in Israeli detention. LAW estimates that during this Intifada over 24,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel, with detentions having ranged from hours to months to years.
According to the information received, there are grave concerns for the physical and psychological integrity of these Palestinian prisoners, who are being subjected to ill-treatment, which in certain circumstances amount to torture, by both the prison administration and the so-called civil administration. On February 19th, 2003, Palestinian prisoners in the ‘Kfar Asion’ military detention centre in southwest Bethlehem, and in the Salem military detention centre, located west of Jenin, have complained of physical violence, a lack of appropriate medical treatment and other forms of ill-treatment. In addition, these prisoners are being kept alongside convicted criminals.
Monir Manasra, a prisoner who was able to see LAW’s lawyer, Jawad Imawi, during a visit to Kfar Asion, spoke of the case of ‘Abd al-Hakim Talahmeh (47), from al-Dura, who has high blood pressure, depression, and memory loss. Manasra told LAW that as treatment, a medical officer gave Talahmeh pills that caused him to lose consciousness for three days. The prisoners told Imawi that they are beaten regularly, and forced to sit on a ‘shabeh’ a chair, which forces the back forward to an extremely painful position. Long periods on this chair cause severe pain in the back, arms and legs. Reports also indicate that prison cells that are meant to accommodate five persons have up to 10 and 11 prisoners in them, and cells meant to accommodate 12 prisoners are being used to hold 22 persons. Furthermore, prisoners complained of extremely poor food, that they are fed the leftovers of the Israeli soldiers meals, and are given very small portions. They are only given breakfast at 2pm, while ‘dinner’ is served at 1am.
Prisoners at the Salem military detention centre also complained of similar conditions, including overcrowding, physical violence and torture, poor food (two pieces of Arabic bread with yogurt or butter for the day); permission to go to the toilet for one hour for all prisoners, and bans on going to the toilet beyond that time; no medical staff at the prison, and for those who are extremely sick, soldiers only provide ‘acamol’ pills, a form of pain killer.
OMCT considers that Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees is in violation of Article 10 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the humane treatment for all persons who are deprived of their liberty, and does not meet the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Furthermore, the failure of the Israeli authorities to ensure that detainees receive adequate medical care violates article 91 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the right of detainees to obtain the medical attention they require: detainees suffering from serious diseases, or whose situation requires special care, surgery, or hospital facilities, must be referred to a proper institution to receive the necessary care 'not inferior to that provided for the general population'.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is therefore gravely concerned by the death in detention of Walid Mohammad Issa Amr, given the alleged negligence on the part of the authorities, as well as for the physical and psychological integrity of thousands of Palestinian prisoners who are still in custody, without charge or trial, who are often being held under administrative detention orders that may be renewed indefinitely. OMCT calls on the Israeli government to ensure that the rights of detainees are protected in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all Palestinian prisoners;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the alleged negligence which has led to the death of Walid Mohammad Issa Amr and all other ill-treatment and torture allegations, in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate reparation to all injured people and Walid Mohammad Issa Amr’s family;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, P O Box 187, Jerusalem 91919, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6705475; E-mail: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
· Meir Sheetrit, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91010, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6285438, E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
· Brig. Gen. Menachem Finkelstein, Chief Military Attorney, Military postal code 9605, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Israel, Fax: +972 3 5694370
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, February 24th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Death in detention / Ill-treatment / Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), a member of the OMCT network, of the a death in detention of a Palestinian prisoner, following an alleged lack of appropriate medical assistance, as well as continuing ill-treatment and torture of other Palestinian detainees in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
According to the information received, Walid Mohammad Issa Amr (34) from Doura, near Hebron died in the Nafha desert prison in the Negev desert at around 8pm on Wednesday, February 19th, 2003, after what appears to be medical negligence on behalf of the Prisons Administration, according to Walid’s brother, Wael (32). According to Wael, his brother called him at around 8pm on Tuesday and told him of his worsening medical condition and that the prison administration was neglecting his case. Walid was reportedly already ill prior to imprisonment. LAW’s lawyer, Khaled al-Araj was taking Walid Amr’s case.
Walid had been held for approximately 16 months, although he had not been sentenced. He was apparently accused of being a member of the al-Aqsa Martyr’s brigade, a militia connected to Fatah, and of planning to carry out a military operation. Walid was married and had six children, the oldest of whom is 13 years old, with the youngest being one and a half years old. According the Palestinian Prisoners Association (PPA), he was imprisoned on December 12, 2001. The PPA also noted that inmates at Nafha have been on strike for the past four days, by refusing to leave their cells. Around 2,300 Palestinians are currently in Israeli detention. LAW estimates that during this Intifada over 24,000 Palestinians have been detained by Israel, with detentions having ranged from hours to months to years.
According to the information received, there are grave concerns for the physical and psychological integrity of these Palestinian prisoners, who are being subjected to ill-treatment, which in certain circumstances amount to torture, by both the prison administration and the so-called civil administration. On February 19th, 2003, Palestinian prisoners in the ‘Kfar Asion’ military detention centre in southwest Bethlehem, and in the Salem military detention centre, located west of Jenin, have complained of physical violence, a lack of appropriate medical treatment and other forms of ill-treatment. In addition, these prisoners are being kept alongside convicted criminals.
Monir Manasra, a prisoner who was able to see LAW’s lawyer, Jawad Imawi, during a visit to Kfar Asion, spoke of the case of ‘Abd al-Hakim Talahmeh (47), from al-Dura, who has high blood pressure, depression, and memory loss. Manasra told LAW that as treatment, a medical officer gave Talahmeh pills that caused him to lose consciousness for three days. The prisoners told Imawi that they are beaten regularly, and forced to sit on a ‘shabeh’ a chair, which forces the back forward to an extremely painful position. Long periods on this chair cause severe pain in the back, arms and legs. Reports also indicate that prison cells that are meant to accommodate five persons have up to 10 and 11 prisoners in them, and cells meant to accommodate 12 prisoners are being used to hold 22 persons. Furthermore, prisoners complained of extremely poor food, that they are fed the leftovers of the Israeli soldiers meals, and are given very small portions. They are only given breakfast at 2pm, while ‘dinner’ is served at 1am.
Prisoners at the Salem military detention centre also complained of similar conditions, including overcrowding, physical violence and torture, poor food (two pieces of Arabic bread with yogurt or butter for the day); permission to go to the toilet for one hour for all prisoners, and bans on going to the toilet beyond that time; no medical staff at the prison, and for those who are extremely sick, soldiers only provide ‘acamol’ pills, a form of pain killer.
OMCT considers that Israel's treatment of Palestinian detainees is in violation of Article 10 of the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the humane treatment for all persons who are deprived of their liberty, and does not meet the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners.
Furthermore, the failure of the Israeli authorities to ensure that detainees receive adequate medical care violates article 91 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantees the right of detainees to obtain the medical attention they require: detainees suffering from serious diseases, or whose situation requires special care, surgery, or hospital facilities, must be referred to a proper institution to receive the necessary care 'not inferior to that provided for the general population'.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is therefore gravely concerned by the death in detention of Walid Mohammad Issa Amr, given the alleged negligence on the part of the authorities, as well as for the physical and psychological integrity of thousands of Palestinian prisoners who are still in custody, without charge or trial, who are often being held under administrative detention orders that may be renewed indefinitely. OMCT calls on the Israeli government to ensure that the rights of detainees are protected in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all Palestinian prisoners;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the alleged negligence which has led to the death of Walid Mohammad Issa Amr and all other ill-treatment and torture allegations, in order to identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate reparation to all injured people and Walid Mohammad Issa Amr’s family;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street, P O Box 187, Jerusalem 91919, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6705475; E-mail: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il
· Meir Sheetrit, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91010, Israel, Fax: +972 2 6285438, E-mail: sar@justice.gov.il
· Brig. Gen. Menachem Finkelstein, Chief Military Attorney, Military postal code 9605, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Israel, Fax: +972 3 5694370
Please also write to the embassies of Israel in your respective country.
Geneva, February 24th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.