Report accuses Shin Bet, police of severely torturing Palestinian suspects

Source: Haaretz, 30-05-2007
A harsh report released Wednesday by the Public Committee Against Torture in "Israel" accuses the Shin Bet and police of instances of severe torture of Palestinian security suspects.
The report contains the testimonies of nine Palestinians who were arrested by the "Israeli" Military Forces and Shin between 2004 and 2005, including one that charged police investigators with committing severe sexual abuse.
According to A., during questioning a police investigator held his legs in the air, and inserted an object into his rectum.
"While the investigator inserted the `object` into my rectum and removed it, he pulled my genitalia, as if he wanted to rip it out," said A. "He told me that he wanted to cut it off and throw it to the dog - this lasted at least 10 minutes. The whole time I yelled out in pain."
According to A., the investigator told him "I promised you I was about to give it to you from behind, to screw you."
The report states that an examination of A. by an Abu Kabir Forensics Institute doctor revealed signs of sexual abuse on his body.
A different prisoner, Louay Ashkar, said he sat during questioning on a chair with a bent backrest, with both hands tied behind the chair and each leg tied to chair leg.
"The investigator would push my chest backward until my head reached the floor, and then grabbed my bound hands and pull me to him," said Ashkar. "I lost consciousness because of the pain, especially in my back."
According to the report, Ashkar`s legs are paralyzed due to the damage his spinal chord suffered.
Another prisoner, Mohammed Barjieh, said investigators shook him during questioning. "The investigator grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me for maybe ten minutes," he said. "I felt as if heat waves were spreading throughout my head, and I felt a strong pain in my neck."
"Later, he returned me to the backward-leaning position," continued Barjieh. "I did not last long, and then I stood up, and again received a blow to the gut, and fell down again - for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes. Then they picked me up and shook me again."
One of the complaints alleges forceful use of iron shackles. "The would close the shackles and push on them until the iron cuts into the flesh and you felt as if your hand is being cut off," said Amin Shakirat.
He also charged his own screams were taped and played back as a means of psychological pressure.
Interrogators used what appeared to be the "good cop, bad cop" method, by letting the director of the facility in with tea-biscuits and cola during a break.
Yamen said he was innocent, but after four or five days of interrogation he broke down and confessed, after which he led "Israeli" soldiers to an alleged weapons cache in Qalqiliya, which to the troops` anger was found empty.
The Shin Bet said in a reaction that its methods used were "legal" in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling.
"Israel" says that, acting on information from arrested militants, in the past six months alone it managed to tracked down 11 explosive belts in the West Bank, of the kind used in deadly suicide bombings in "Israeli" cities.
Article 2 of the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture allows "no exceptional circumstances whatsoever," including a state of war or any emergency, as a justification of torture.
The convention, to which "Israel" is a signatory, defines torture as any act that inflicts "severe" pain or suffering on a person for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession.
It excludes, however, pain or suffering arising from "lawful sanctions."
At the conclusion of its report, the committee called on "Israel" to fully implement international law regarding treatment of prisoners and detainees. The committee also called for legislation clarifying that safeguards such as "necessity" and "justification," which allow for physical harm to be done to a person in order to save lives, do not apply to torture and abuse.
The Shin Bet said in response that "Shin Bet questioning is done in accordance with the law and Supreme Court rulings and under close legal supervision."
"Every individual being questioned can file complaints during the period of his questioning to various officials," continued the statement. "Every complaint is examined thoroughly and seriously."
"It should be stressed that in the course of the examinations that were carried out, it turned out that some of the complainants did not complain at all or did not make the accusations attributed to them," said the Shin Bet. "It is also important to emphasize that the information gathered during questioning allows [`Israel`] to thwart and prevent terror attacks and many civilians in `Israel` owe their lives to these activities."