Palestine
03.03.00
Urgent Interventions
'Palestine Autonomous Areas: Detention and torture of University students
Palestine Autonomous Areas: Detention and torture of University students
Case PAL 010300.1
Follow-up to Case PAL 010300
Geneva, 3rd March 2000
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Palestine Autonomous Areas.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information concerning the torture of several students, from the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), following their recent meeting with 7 Birzeit students in detention.
According to the information received, one student, Lo’ai Bayatneh, 20, from Abu Qash, a 3rd year Humanities student, states that PSS agents in Birzeit had beaten him and was forced to stand in a very uncomfortable position for 6 hours at the Jericho detention centre. Another detainee Dia’ O’of, 21, from Kufr Malek, a 3rd year Engineering student, was also forced to stand in a very uncomfortable position from 11:00am on Saturday 26th February until the following morning. Tareq Arrar, 22, from Qarawet Bani Zeid, a 3rd year Business Administration student, who suffers from back pains due to fractures in the lower part of the spinal chord and had earlier sustained rubber bullet injuries by the Israeli forces during clashes in 1996, was interrogated several times and was also forced into an uncomfortable position for three hours. Ibrahim Asabe’, 22, from Beit Ummar, a 3rd year Science student, was also forced into an uncomfortable position from 12:00pm Saturday 26th February until 12:00am the following day. Asid Ashanti, 23, from Qalqilya, a 5th year Electronic Engineering student, was severely beaten in Birzeit village by a PSS interrogator identified as Hasan Asfour. Asid refused to give a list of names of Birzeit students.
Officials of the Preventative Security Services (PSS) have reportedly rejected claims that the students had been forced to stand in uncomfortable positions.
Iyad Amra, 26, from Al Jalazone, a 3rd year Humanities student, and I’tiraf Arimawi, 22, from Beit Rima, a 4th year Business Administration student, are also in detention.
Furthermore, according to the affidavits gathered by LAW’s lawyers from the released students, fellow students had been exposed to beatings. Hani Al Barghouti, 21, from Beit Rima stated that a friend’s legs were swollen as a result of beating incurred by the General Intelligence Agency (GIA) at Jericho. Moreover, another detainee, Rani Al Barghouti, was forced to stand for an hour and a half on one leg, whenever he tried to sit down, he was beaten and his beard was pulled.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT was previously informed by (LAW), that since recent incidents at Birzeit University, 28 Students from Birzeit and other universities in the West Bank remained in detention. To date, 8 students had been released.
According to the information received, Abu Kharsh, 21, a student of the Humanities department of Birzeit University, stated that he had been arrested while he was in a taxi and transferred to the GIA headquarters in Ramallah and interrogated. He added that he was pressured during his interrogation to list the names of other students involved in the Birzeit events. In his affadavit, he added that he had been hooded for a long period of time and severely beaten. He was later released at 12:00pm on Sunday. His ID was held by the PSS until he returned for interrogation.
In addition, the Police Chief Major General Ghazi Jabali issued orders on 29th February 2000 which bans Palestinians from organizing processions, demonstrations or holding public meetings without obtaining an approval from the district police commander.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Palestine urging them to:
i. End all torture and ill-treatment and take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees and order their immediate release in the absence of valid charges;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests and allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of all University students in the Palestine Autonomous Areas;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance international human rights standards, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.
Addresses
Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2822 365/6 ( if voice, say "fax, please").
Freih Abu Meddein, Palestinian Authority, Minister of Justice, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2822 236
Khalid al-Qidrah, Attorney General, Palestinian Authority, Attorney General Building, Yarmouk, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2824 502.
Geneva, March 3rd 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Case PAL 010300.1
Follow-up to Case PAL 010300
Geneva, 3rd March 2000
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Palestine Autonomous Areas.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information concerning the torture of several students, from the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (LAW), following their recent meeting with 7 Birzeit students in detention.
According to the information received, one student, Lo’ai Bayatneh, 20, from Abu Qash, a 3rd year Humanities student, states that PSS agents in Birzeit had beaten him and was forced to stand in a very uncomfortable position for 6 hours at the Jericho detention centre. Another detainee Dia’ O’of, 21, from Kufr Malek, a 3rd year Engineering student, was also forced to stand in a very uncomfortable position from 11:00am on Saturday 26th February until the following morning. Tareq Arrar, 22, from Qarawet Bani Zeid, a 3rd year Business Administration student, who suffers from back pains due to fractures in the lower part of the spinal chord and had earlier sustained rubber bullet injuries by the Israeli forces during clashes in 1996, was interrogated several times and was also forced into an uncomfortable position for three hours. Ibrahim Asabe’, 22, from Beit Ummar, a 3rd year Science student, was also forced into an uncomfortable position from 12:00pm Saturday 26th February until 12:00am the following day. Asid Ashanti, 23, from Qalqilya, a 5th year Electronic Engineering student, was severely beaten in Birzeit village by a PSS interrogator identified as Hasan Asfour. Asid refused to give a list of names of Birzeit students.
Officials of the Preventative Security Services (PSS) have reportedly rejected claims that the students had been forced to stand in uncomfortable positions.
Iyad Amra, 26, from Al Jalazone, a 3rd year Humanities student, and I’tiraf Arimawi, 22, from Beit Rima, a 4th year Business Administration student, are also in detention.
Furthermore, according to the affidavits gathered by LAW’s lawyers from the released students, fellow students had been exposed to beatings. Hani Al Barghouti, 21, from Beit Rima stated that a friend’s legs were swollen as a result of beating incurred by the General Intelligence Agency (GIA) at Jericho. Moreover, another detainee, Rani Al Barghouti, was forced to stand for an hour and a half on one leg, whenever he tried to sit down, he was beaten and his beard was pulled.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT was previously informed by (LAW), that since recent incidents at Birzeit University, 28 Students from Birzeit and other universities in the West Bank remained in detention. To date, 8 students had been released.
According to the information received, Abu Kharsh, 21, a student of the Humanities department of Birzeit University, stated that he had been arrested while he was in a taxi and transferred to the GIA headquarters in Ramallah and interrogated. He added that he was pressured during his interrogation to list the names of other students involved in the Birzeit events. In his affadavit, he added that he had been hooded for a long period of time and severely beaten. He was later released at 12:00pm on Sunday. His ID was held by the PSS until he returned for interrogation.
In addition, the Police Chief Major General Ghazi Jabali issued orders on 29th February 2000 which bans Palestinians from organizing processions, demonstrations or holding public meetings without obtaining an approval from the district police commander.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Palestine urging them to:
i. End all torture and ill-treatment and take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of all detainees and order their immediate release in the absence of valid charges;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests and allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of all University students in the Palestine Autonomous Areas;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance international human rights standards, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.
Addresses
Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2822 365/6 ( if voice, say "fax, please").
Freih Abu Meddein, Palestinian Authority, Minister of Justice, Abu Khadra Building, Omar al-al-Mukhtar Street, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2822 236
Khalid al-Qidrah, Attorney General, Palestinian Authority, Attorney General Building, Yarmouk, Gaza, via Israel. Fax : + 972 7 2824 502.
Geneva, March 3rd 2000
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.