Israel/OPT
23.01.01
Urgent Interventions
Israel: torture of three Palestinian detainees
Case ISR 230101
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel.
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 torture of three Palestinian detainees.
According to the information received, Ayman Al Ajluni, 28, and Yunis Al Atrash, 41, were subjected to shabih (bound and blindfolded), sleep deprivation, being drenched in cold water, death threats and abusive language by Israeli Shabak (the Israeli General Security Apparatus) interrogators. Furthermore, OMCT was informed of the Israeli Attorney General’s decision to cancel an investigation into the allegations of torture brought by Rami Iz’oul, 18.
It is reported that Ayman Al Ajluni, father of three from Hebron, currently detained at the Russian Compound, told LAW Society’s lawyer Labib Habib that he had been arrested from his home in the area of Hebron still under Israeli control on 20 December 2000. He was taken to Hebron’s Al Majnuna detention center before being transferred to Asqalan for 17 days. Then he was taken to Al Jalami prison, where he spent seven days before being taken to the Russian Compound detention center.
El Ajluni stated that the Asqalan prison interrogators used torturous methods for the first five days. During interrogation, he was forced to sit blindfolded on a tiny chair with his hands bound behind his back. He was prevented from sleeping, threatened with death and subjected to abusive language.
Yunis Al Atrash, father of 12 also from Hebron, told LAW’s lawyer that special Israeli forces broke into his house in Israeli-controlled Hebron on 8 January 2001, carried out a thorough search and took him to Asqalan prison.
Al Atrash stated that Shabak interrogators at Asqalan prison used torturous methods during the first five days of his detention. Al Atrash was forced to sit blindfolded on a tiny chair with his hands bound behind his back. He was drenched in icy water and subjected to abusive language.
OMCT is gravely concerned that on 15 January 2001, LAW learnt from the office of the Israeli Attorney General that an investigation into allegations of torture brought forward by Rami Iz'oul, an 18-year-old Palestinian detainee, would not be carried out, under the pretext that it was not a matter of "public interest". The Israeli Attorney’s letter came in response to a complaint filed by LAW, through attorney Labib Habib, with the Department for Investigation of Police Misconduct on 3 December 2000. LAW had demanded an investigation into Iz'oul ’s interrogation.
Rami Iz'oul was arrested by Israeli soldiers from his home in the West Bank village of Husan near Bethlehem on 30 October 2000 and has been in detention since. Iz'oul claims that he was beaten and had ice cold water poured over his head during interrogation. Due to the torture, Iz'oul was hospitalized for one night in Jerusalem’s Hadassa hospital. The 18-year-old reported that after being discharged from the hospital he was beaten again and threatened into signing a false confession.
On 6 September 1999, the Israeli High Court issued a judgment outlawing specific interrogation methods amounting to torture. The High Court further stated that a reasonable interrogation was necessarily one free of torture, cruel and inhuman treatment. The Court highlighted that "brutal and inhuman means" were prohibited during interrogation and that human dignity includes the dignity of the suspect being interrogated. OMCT and LAW believe that the practices used during the interrogation of Rami Iz'oul amount to "brutal and inhuman means" and are therefore in contradiction of the High Court ruling of 6 September 1999.
Actions requested
Please continue to write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ayman Al Ajluni, Yunis Al Atrash, and Rami Iz’oul;
ii. order an immediate investigation into all allegations of arbitrary arrest and torture, identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
Ehud Barak, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
The Embassy of Israel in your respective countries.
Geneva, 23rd January 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Israel.
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 torture of three Palestinian detainees.
According to the information received, Ayman Al Ajluni, 28, and Yunis Al Atrash, 41, were subjected to shabih (bound and blindfolded), sleep deprivation, being drenched in cold water, death threats and abusive language by Israeli Shabak (the Israeli General Security Apparatus) interrogators. Furthermore, OMCT was informed of the Israeli Attorney General’s decision to cancel an investigation into the allegations of torture brought by Rami Iz’oul, 18.
It is reported that Ayman Al Ajluni, father of three from Hebron, currently detained at the Russian Compound, told LAW Society’s lawyer Labib Habib that he had been arrested from his home in the area of Hebron still under Israeli control on 20 December 2000. He was taken to Hebron’s Al Majnuna detention center before being transferred to Asqalan for 17 days. Then he was taken to Al Jalami prison, where he spent seven days before being taken to the Russian Compound detention center.
El Ajluni stated that the Asqalan prison interrogators used torturous methods for the first five days. During interrogation, he was forced to sit blindfolded on a tiny chair with his hands bound behind his back. He was prevented from sleeping, threatened with death and subjected to abusive language.
Yunis Al Atrash, father of 12 also from Hebron, told LAW’s lawyer that special Israeli forces broke into his house in Israeli-controlled Hebron on 8 January 2001, carried out a thorough search and took him to Asqalan prison.
Al Atrash stated that Shabak interrogators at Asqalan prison used torturous methods during the first five days of his detention. Al Atrash was forced to sit blindfolded on a tiny chair with his hands bound behind his back. He was drenched in icy water and subjected to abusive language.
OMCT is gravely concerned that on 15 January 2001, LAW learnt from the office of the Israeli Attorney General that an investigation into allegations of torture brought forward by Rami Iz'oul, an 18-year-old Palestinian detainee, would not be carried out, under the pretext that it was not a matter of "public interest". The Israeli Attorney’s letter came in response to a complaint filed by LAW, through attorney Labib Habib, with the Department for Investigation of Police Misconduct on 3 December 2000. LAW had demanded an investigation into Iz'oul ’s interrogation.
Rami Iz'oul was arrested by Israeli soldiers from his home in the West Bank village of Husan near Bethlehem on 30 October 2000 and has been in detention since. Iz'oul claims that he was beaten and had ice cold water poured over his head during interrogation. Due to the torture, Iz'oul was hospitalized for one night in Jerusalem’s Hadassa hospital. The 18-year-old reported that after being discharged from the hospital he was beaten again and threatened into signing a false confession.
On 6 September 1999, the Israeli High Court issued a judgment outlawing specific interrogation methods amounting to torture. The High Court further stated that a reasonable interrogation was necessarily one free of torture, cruel and inhuman treatment. The Court highlighted that "brutal and inhuman means" were prohibited during interrogation and that human dignity includes the dignity of the suspect being interrogated. OMCT and LAW believe that the practices used during the interrogation of Rami Iz'oul amount to "brutal and inhuman means" and are therefore in contradiction of the High Court ruling of 6 September 1999.
Actions requested
Please continue to write to the authorities in Israel urging them to:
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ayman Al Ajluni, Yunis Al Atrash, and Rami Iz’oul;
ii. order an immediate investigation into all allegations of arbitrary arrest and torture, identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses
Ehud Barak, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street Hakirya, Jerusalem 91007, Israel, Faxes: +972 2 566 4838 and +972 3 691 7915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street, Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 6285 438
Minister of Defense, Ministry of Defense, 7 "A" Street, Hakirya, Tel Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972 3 697 62 18.
Minister of Police, Ministry of Police, PO Box 18182, 3 Sheikh Jarrah, Kiryat Hamemshala, Jerusalem 91181, State of Israel. Fax : + 972 2 5826 769.
The Embassy of Israel in your respective countries.
Geneva, 23rd January 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.