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Contents
Increasing levels of violence and mass arrest campaigns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip continued into October 2003, with little improvement in the situation of child prisoners.
The arrest campaigns are usually arbitrary, involving the arrest of tens or hundreds of young men and boys from specific areas or at specific checkpoints. This mass arrest process is intended to terrorize the local population into submission and weed out potential sources of opposition, but involves the repression of thousands of Palestinians. Needless to say, these tactics are forbidden under international human rights law, but are practiced on a daily basis by the Israeli army.
Many children can not defend themselves or oppose this brutal treatment used during investigation by the Israeli forces. In these brutal sessions combined with the already inhumane conditions inside the prison cells children are forced to sign confessions. Although this way of exhorting confessions is illegal these confessions are being used in the military courts.
In further concerning developments this month, DCI has recorded a case of one child being sexually abused during the interrogation process, alongside the many others who are physically and psychologically abused. DCI has previously received reports of threats of sexual abuse, but has rarely documented actual abuse. The incident is alleged to have taken place in Ofer military prison, outside Ramallah and will be followed up by the DCI legal team.
Atzion
On October 1st 2003, a DCI lawyer visited Atzion detention center, outside Bethlehem . The food conditions inside the prison remain well below international standards. Overcrowding continues with around 8 detainees sharing a room of 2.5 x 2.5m, sometimes without mattresses and blankets.
The provision of food remains inadequate and meal-sizes are insufficient and lack vitamins and freshness. Sanitary conditions are at a permanently low standard since cleaning supplies are not provided to the prisoners, encouraging sickness and disease. In addition, the detainees do not have access to warm water.
DCI continues to receive reports of incidents of torture in Atzion including electric shocks, positional torture, severe beatings, and threats of sexual abuse. Although torture has been practiced for decades inside Israeli prisons, the use of these procedures against children – particularly during the interrogation process – is particularly horrific. See case studies for more details.
With these cruel prison conditions, especially difficult for young children, and the continuous use of different kinds of torture, such as beatings and swearing some children are trying to commit suicide or are forced to confess.
Ofeq Hasharon
Currently 4 boys are being held at Ofeq Hasharon, which is an Israeli prison for criminals located near Haifa .
Although the situation over the whole is better than in regular Israeli detention centers and military prison camps, the boys feel quite isolated since they are the only Palestinians in the facility and the only political inmates among a criminal prison population.
Being held in an Israeli criminal prison does however means some advantages compared to their fellow child detainees in Israeli detention centers, i.e. one of the boys works in the factory wrapping knifes and forks into serviettes hereby earning 50 shekels a month (= 11 USD). They also have the opportunity to study, read and to play sports.
Umar Darraj, the boy who had been arrested and transferred to Ofeq Hasharon last month is doing relatively well and even has the change to phone his family regularly. As a result his family has been able to send him a couple of trousers, shirts and underwear as little or no clothing is provided by the prison.
Telmond
During his visit on to Telmond prison on 14 October 2003 the DCI lawyer faced a number of obstacles including one with the prison authorities and he had to wait for one and a half hour outside the prison. Once inside, there were long breaks in between bringing the prisoners in, resulting in long waiting hours and not being able to see all the prisoners timetabled.
The boys told the DCI lawyer that there are currently 81 boys being held in Telmond, including 4 new transfers. The boys share 27 two-bed rooms and many sleep on the floor or share mattresses/blankets.
The general situation remains difficult for the boys who are not given enough food by the prison administration. Even though some families have been able to visit the prison ( Jerusalem , Bethlehem , Qalqiliya and Tulkarem), they were not allowed to bring in the food, gifts and money that they brought with them. The families were treated badly and were harassed while being searched before entering the prison.
Regarding the right to education, there is an Arab-Israeli teacher allowed in on a regular basis to teach the boys, but there is a lack of books and study materials, making it difficult to teach and to study. Meanwhile, there are some children who suffer from nightmares and intense fear and others who are physically unwell. Despite this, doctors/medical treatment are not provided for inside the prison.
The boys in the prison ask for help from international organisations and individuals to improve their situation. Help is needed since the difficult circumstances are pressing on the children. There are some cases of children who suffer from nightmares and imaginations. Others are afraid and suffer from worsening health conditions. However doctors and medical treatment are not allowed or provided inside the prison.
Case Studies
Case 1: Mohammed Abdel Hamid Suleiman 17 years old, from Beit Awa' Hebron district:
Mohammed was arrested at 5am on 2/10/03 when soldiers surrounded his house and stormed it with force. The soldiers demolished the interior of the family home and arrested Mohammed. He was then put into a jeep and taken to the police station in Kiryat ‘Arba settlement, there he was beaten severely as he tried to climb the stairs. This resulted in injuries in his face and his right leg. After that he was put in a room and a group of soldiers attacked him, beating him, screaming and shouting at him and accusing him of the following:
- Being a member of an (resistance) organization
- Planning for a suicide operation
- Throwing a burning bottle ( Molotov cocktail)
Mohammed felt that he was forced to confess to the above accusations because of the physical and psychological pressure put on him by these soldiers and his intense fear during the process of arrest and interrogation.
Case 2: Samer not his real name:
Samer, not his real name, a 12 year old boy was arrested on 29/9/2003 at Container checkpoint while traveling on the way from Bethlehem to Jericho . From there he was taken to the nearest settlement: Ma'ale Adumim. Here he was subject to torture including electric shocks. Then he was transferred to Atzion detention center near Bethlehem where he was put in solitary confinement for twelve days in a room measuring 2m2 only. After that he was moved to Ofer military prison camp where he was sexually assaulted by a soldier.
An extract from his affidavit to one of the DCI lawyers:
“And because there was no one I could talk to and I felt incredible frightened and scared I tried to commit suicide while being in solitary confinement. On October 12th I was moved to Ofer military prison camp. When I arrived the soldiers asked me to take off my clothes and I was standing in my underwear. Then one of the soldiers took off even my underwear and started to use the metal detector on my naked body. While he was doing that he used his other hand to touch my body concentrating mainly on my back and bottom. This continued for a while and I was crying being terrified that something would happen.
I prefer to stay in solitary confinement in Atzion detention center rather than to be with the soldiers in Ofer military prison camp.”
DCI is taking Samer's allegations extremely seriously and has demanded his immediate release. This has been refused by the Israeli military court in Bet El. DCI is following up his case closely and supports Samer in every way possible.
Case 3: Osama ‘Amru, 17 years old from the city of Hebron :
While walking he was stopped by a group of soldiers who checked his bag. The soldiers found a Japanese knife in his bag. Later Osama explained that he was carrying the knife from one place to another where it would be picked up by another person.
Once the soldiers discovered the knife, Osama was blindfolded and handcuffed, thrown into a military jeep and taken to Atzion detention center. Later Osama explained that he was carrying the knife from one place to another where another person was going to pick it up. There the boy was subjected to positional torture for a long period of time while the soldiers knew that the boy was suffering from pains from a car accident that happened the year before.
At Atzion, Osama was subjected to positional torture (shabeh) for a long period of time, even though the soldiers knew that he still suffered pain from a car accident the previous year. Osama had a car accident in 2002 and therefore has a 15 cm metal plate in his leg. Due to the shock of the car accident he is suffering from a sort of light brain damage and problems with his nervous system.
Even after he had been tortured, the authorities did not allow Osama to see a doctor or receive any medical treatment. Osama might face a sentence of over 5 years imprisonment.
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