Despite the Israeli High Court decision on 6 September 1999, outlawing the use of arbitrary torture as an interrogation method, methods of torture are still applied by Israeli interrogators of Palestinian detainees (photo by TRC).
The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture (26 June) is an occasion when human rights organizations, torture
survivors and concerned individuals raise public awareness of the continued
prevalence of torture around the world and discuss methods of eradicating this
evil. This year, the Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture
(TRC) and United against Torture (UAT) organized a conference in Ramallah titled
“Monitoring Human Rights Compliance in Places of Detention.” This series of
lectures by national and international organizations and experts examined torture
in Palestine and Israel, and discussed the best practices for prevention. Dr.
Mahmud Sehwail, General Director and Consultant Psychiatrist at the TRC stressed
the importance of this day when he said it is an opportunity to support victims
of torture, remember those who are suffering, and show international concern to
eradicate this crime.
According to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), of which Israel is a
signatory, torture is defined as “any act by which severe pain or suffering,
whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such
purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession,
punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of
having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any
reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is
inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a
public official or other person acting in an official capacity” (Article 1). The
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) summarizes this
definition as “the intentional infliction of severe mental or physical pain or
suffering by or with the consent of the state authorities for a specific
purpose.”
Unfortunately, torture is used as a routine method of interrogation
and punishment in more than half of the world’s countries, including Israel,
despite being prohibited by international human rights and humanitarian law.
The TRC defines torture as “the purposeful and systematic annihilation of a
human being’s physical and psychological well-being.” This sentiment is echoed
by Palestinians who have survived torture at the hands of Israeli security
forces.
Ms. Manal Ghanim was tortured in prison and was courageous enough
to speak of her experiences at the conference. She said she was arrested in her
third month of pregnancy, gave birth to her son in prison (who remained with
her for 13 months until he was taken away) and was kept in prison for four
years. Ms. Ghanim described the conditions in prison, including a lack of light
(she couldn’t tell what time of day it was); mistreatment by the guards such as
showering prisoners with water while outside in the cold; breaking prisoners’
hands; denial of medical treatment; and being deprived of food for three days.
It is clear her experiences are still very painful and difficult to talk about,
since she “never forgets; always remembers.” She also said, “Torture is a wound
inside every prisoner” and “can only end by releasing every prisoner from
Israeli jails,” revealing her lack of confidence that torture will be abolished
in Israeli prisons. She further articulated her hope that Israel will sign laws
and conventions to put an end to torture and that the international community
will act to prevent torture.
At the conference, as well as in scores of fact-finding reports and
publications, numerous experts, torture survivors, and human rights advocates
discussed the many forms of torture documented in Israel over the past several
decades. One of the speakers at the conference, Mr. Ashraf Ajrami, Minister of
Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, outlined various forms of physical and
psychological torture such as beatings, sleep deprivation, being forced to wear
a hood for long periods of time, not being allowed to go to the bathroom, lack
of ventilation due to closed quarters (2 square meters per prisoner versus
Europe’s 3.5 square meters), and a lack of health care for sick prisoners.
These actions clearly illustrate Israel is not complying with international law.
Further, prisoners are often detained inside of Israel, instead of where they
live, preventing their families from visiting because they need permits.
In addition to the methods mentioned above, human rights
organizations have documented various other forms of physical torture such as
electric shocks, stretching, violent shaking, being forced to stay in a painful
position for long periods of time, submersion, suffocation, burns, rape and
sexual assault, as well as psychological methods such as isolation, threats,
humiliation, mock executions, mock amputations, and witnessing the torture of
others. In addition, the pain of torture lasts much longer than the acts
themselves. For example, many victims (according to the TRC, as many as 40
percent) experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) including
flashbacks, severe anxiety, insomnia, nightmares, depression and memory lapses.
There are numerous “reasons” for acts of torture to be used against
prisoners. According to the IRCT, “the aim of torture is to break down the victim’s
personality and is often used to punish, obtain information or a confession,
take revenge on a person or create terror and fear within a population.” Torture
usually involves severe physical and/or emotional suffering and is designed to
prolong the pain and fear of a victim as long as possible. Further, when a
particular group of people, such as an ethnic or religious minority, are
targeted through torture, this sends a strong warning to other members of these
groups and increases their fear of the same thing happening to them.
It is important to stress Israel is a signatory to the CAT and as
such, it is obligated to adhere to the principles outlined in this important
international treaty. However, Israel has routinely ignored many of its responsibilities
to international and human rights law regarding torture. Specific
responsibilities include:
* Each State Party shall take effective legislative,
administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory
under its jurisdiction;
* No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war
or a threat of war, internal political in stability or any other public
emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture; and
* Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are
offences under its criminal law.
While there are numerous other responsibilities contained in this
Convention, it is clear Israel has violated key components of the CAT when they
fail to prevent acts of torture through the legal system, justify acts of
torture due to security reasons, and fail to criminalize torture.
In addition to the Convention against Torture, its Optional
Protocol was adopted in 2002 to further protect the rights of prisoners.
However, Israel is one of the few states that have refused to ratify this
important protocol. In fact, on 7 November 2002, the Optional Protocol to the
UN Convention against Torture passed by 104 votes in favour and 8 against
(China, Cuba, Israel, Japan, Nigeria, Vietnam, Syria, United States), with 37
abstentions. According to the Optional Protocol, “the objective of the present
Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent
international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their
liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.” In other words, states that sign this Optional
Protocol would open up their detention facilities to external scrutiny and
independent monitoring so torture could be prevented. However, Israel has so
far refused to sign this Optional Protocol.
Before 6 September 1999, Israeli interrogators of Palestinian
prisoners operated under the Landau Commission Recommendations of 1987 which
approved the use of “moderate physical pressure and non-violent psychological
pressure” while interrogating Palestinian detainees, effectively permitting
torture by law. However, despite the landmark decision by the Israeli High
Court in 1999 which outlawed the use of arbitrary torture as an interrogation
method and ruled that torture is illegal under any circumstances, Palestinian
detainees and human rights organizations have continued to routinely report
acts of torture by Israeli interrogators. This is in large part due to the fact
the Court allowed interrogators who use force to prevent a terrorist attack to
use the “defense of necessity” if the courts attempted to prosecute them.
Due to the widespread prevalence of torture and the large number of
victims, numerous human rights organizations have formed to work on this
important issue. The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Victims of Torture
(TRC), is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organization which assists
survivors in overcoming the lasting effects of torture and politically-motivated
violence. The TRC is the only center of its kind in the West Bank and was
formed in response to the human rights abuses committed against Palestinians
under the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. It was
specifically created to “combat the effects of the systematic practice of
torture in Israeli prisons on individual, family and community members which
has been carried out on hundreds of thousands of Palestinian political
prisoners since 1967.”
Dr. Mahmud Sehwail, the General Director and Consultant
Psychiatrist at the TRC, spoke at the conference in Ramallah on 25 June 2008.
He said, “Torture kills the spirit” and is designed to terrify the prisoner and
his family. The goal of the TRC is to build a Palestinian society that is
violence free through public awareness, and the training of governments, NGOs,
and Palestinian security services, many who have been tortured by Israelis and
are therefore at a high risk of committing these abuses themselves. The TRC is also
involved in a variety of initiatives such as therapy, training, research,
advocacy, and public awareness.
The Legal Advisor and Program Manager at the Prevention of Torture
Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT), Mrs. Therese
Rytter, said the monitoring of places of detention is one way to improve
conditions and protect the rights of prisoners. In the global struggle for the
prevention and eradication of torture, there are two streams of thought. The
first is that torture is most effectively eradicated through the punishment of
torturers. Second, torture must be prevented in the first place through visits
to places of detention on a regular, unannounced basis, thereby deterring
torture. It is due to this concept that the Optional Protocol to CAT was
introduced. The hope is to identify efficient methods and procedures to prevent torture.
A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mrs. Khalida
Jarrar, discussed the role of the PLC in preventing torture. She said one of
the main roles of the PLC in preventing torture is to create laws banning
torture and signing international conventions. She hopes the PLC will adopt a
law against torture that includes mechanisms for holding people accountable.
She also complained numerous countries that claim to be democratic are actually
committing acts of torture. With the absence of monitoring institutions, many
are encouraged to violate human rights.
Mrs. Khalida Jarrar believes there is a double standard with the EU.
She said they adopt international conventions on human rights, but at a
practical level, the standards for honoring human rights are not applied. She
was clearly frustrated that “Israel is supported while they violate human
rights on a daily basis” such as acts of collective punishment and
extrajudicial killings. Further, Mrs. Jarrar questioned why Palestinians should
work for democracy when those who are supposedly democratic commit or condone
abuses and laughingly said “My words are not diplomatic enough.” She stressed
it is necessary to create a political and legal framework for preventing
torture that does not include a double standard. Finally, Israel has not ratified
the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture and this is not
acceptable since individuals and states must be punished and held accountable
for their actions. Accountability for torturers and an organized plan for
preventing torture among national and international actors are the only ways
torture will be eradicated in Israel.
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