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Writers Articles And Opinions |
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5 January 2010
By Stephen Lendman
Founded in 1990 to highlight a growing problem, the
Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PACTI -
stoptorture.org) "believes that torture and ill
treatment of any kind and under all circumstances is
incompatible with the moral values of democracy and
the rule of law. (It) advocates for all persons -
Israelis, Palestinians, labor immigrants and other
foreigners in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories (OPT) - in order to protect them from
torture and ill treatment by the Israeli interrogation
and law enforcement authorities."
They
include the Israeli Police, the General Security
Service (GSS), the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), and
the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In June 2009, PACTI
published a report titled, "Shackling As A Form of
Torture and Abuse." Its findings are discussed below.
PACTI reviews the "serious phenomenon" of shackling
Palestinian detainees "in a systematic manner and
throughout all stages of detention and interrogation."
Its purpose is to dehumanize and inflict pain,
suffering, punishment, intimidation, and
discrimination as a way of lawlessly extracting
information even though experts acknowledge that
torture is ineffective, counterproductive, and, of
course, illegal under all circumstances at all times
with no exceptions allowed ever.
Israel's use of shackling "has snowballed almost out
of control....even when it serves no real" purpose,
and it begins at the time of arrest. Plastic handcuffs
are used "that can be tightened but cannot be released
or halted." They inflict pain, especially when hands
are cuffed from behind, the most common way.
Shackling continues during interrogation, "where
diverse and creative forms of cuffing are intended to
apply pain and pressure...." Then in cells, detainees
are painfully shackled to beds for extended periods.
Even when they're transfered for urgent hospital
treatment, cuffing stays in place throughout.
In
his "Torture Ruling," (HCJ 5100/94 Public Committee
Against Torture in Israel v. Prime Minister of
Israel), former President of the Israeli High Court of
Justice (HCJ), Aaron Barak (1995 - 2006), addressed
cuffing as follows:
"A
reasonable interrogation is an interrogation without
torture, without cruel or inhuman treatment of the
interrogee, and without a humiliating attitude
thereto. It is forbidden to use brutal and inhuman
measures during the course of the
interrogation....Painful cuffing is a prohibited
action. Moreover: other means exist to prevent escape
from lawful custody or to protect the interrogators
which do not involve causing pain and suffering to the
interrogee."
Interrogators ignored the ruling and keep using
procedures prohibited by the High Court as a way to
gratuitously inflict pain, suffering, and at times
permanent injury and disability.
PACTI cites specific cases and offers a medical
opinion on the pain and neurological damage it causes.
In response to its demands, interrogators began using
new type handcuffs with longer chains, supposedly to
limit physical harm. However, they're as harsh as
before.
Cuffing During Arrest and Transfer to
Interrogation
Painful cuffing begins, even for minors, the sick and
women at the moment of arrest to begin breaking
detainees' spirit and soften them up for GSS
interrogations. Each month, PACTI gets dozens of
complaints, and over the past year documented hundreds
representing "the tip of the iceberg" about a
universally administered procedure. For example:
Alaa
Nasser Dib Salem was arrested on October 2, 2008. In
his affidavit, he said soldiers cuffed his hands
behind his back so tightly that any hand movement
tightened his restraint more, causing pain and
producing paresthesia (an abnormal tingling or
pricking feeling the result of pressure on or damage
to peripheral nerves).
Mahmud Faruq Hamed el-Bubali lost feeling in both
hands after 30 minutes and made him feel like "my
palms were going to disconnect, to be cut off." The
cuffing turned his hands blue, and he suffered intense
pain, especially in his right hand.
When
Yazan Sawalha complained of pain, he was denigrated,
laughed at, cursed, and told to shut up even though
his hands turned bright blue and red, were very
swollen, and he had trouble lifting them.
Rami
Mufid Jum'ah's complaint led to further abuse. In
transit with soldiers, he was kicked and struck with
rifle butts on his shoulder.
A.G,
a minor, told of being tightly handcuffed with his
hands behind his back and blindfolded. When his
restraint was temporarily removed, his left hand was
blue and swollen, and his wrist swollen and red. At
the Petah Tikva detention center, a doctor discovered
white pus on both his hands.
Each
time PACTI submitted a complaint to the Central
Command Attorney for Operational Affairs, "no
substantive reply" was gotten.
During Operation Cast Lead, Amar Fuad Mahmud al-Helu
was arrested, painfully cuffed and held that way for
three days. As a result, his shoulder was sprained and
dislocated. When he shouted about the intense pain,
soldiers tightened his restraint further.
In
statements gotten by the Breaking the Silence
organization, soldiers corroborated detainee
testimonies. For example, Staff Sergeant A. said:
"....handcuff (detainees) and put a cloth over their
eyes. Just take them away at night....put the
handcuffs on them real tight. It stopped their blood
circulation a bit." They were left in a school "for
hours, blindfolded and handcuffed, and they had no
idea what they'd done...It went on through the day"
lasting for hours.
Staff Sergeant B said:
"some soldiers know what the purpose of the handcuffs
is and some....think (it's) to stop the flow of blood
from the wrist and fingertips....some guys think that
you should squeeze the handcuffs as far as possible so
that no blood can flow from one side to the other."
That's different from just restraining them.
The Medical Aspect
At
PACTI's request, Dr. Bettina Steiner-Birmanns said:
"Tight handcuffs - such as narrow and rigid plastic
handcuffs with no space between the cuffs and the
detainee's hands - press forcefully on the wrists. The
detainee is liable to remain (in restraint) for
protracted periods. In these conditions, the handcuffs
may cause injuries to soft tissue and abrasions, skin
wounds, and even fractures. The handcuffs also press
on the nerves in the palms, thereby causing paralyses
and a loss of sensation in (them). These neurological
injuries may be transient but they may also be
permanent....From the neurologist's viewpoint....tight
handcuffs can cause transient or irreversible
damage...."
Correspondence with Army Authorities
All
detainees are subjected to the same abuse with slight
variations. PACTI asked authorities to provide
regulations, procedures, or orders regarding the use
of plastic (or other type) handcuffs. In response,
Major Zohar Halevy, the IDF Spokesperson's Division
Human Rights and Public Relations head, issued a
statement saying:
"In
principle, force is not to be exercised against
another person in order to execute a function or
perform a duty unless the function cannot be executed
or the duty performed without the exercising of
force."
Regarding forceful handcuffing, Major Halevy added
that military police orders establish that:
"the
use of force shall be in such measure as is necessary
and logical while adapting given the circumstances.
This shall be reasonably proportional to the desired
goal. (Furthermore), the shackling of detainees
outside the detention center shall be effected solely
by the use of handcuffs, in such manner that the
accompanying MP is shackled by the hand to the
detainee, or when two detainees are shackled together
and the MP accompanies them....it must be ensured that
the accompaniers have cutters in order to cut the
handcuffs when necessary."
In
response to a further PACTI inquiry, Human Rights
Officer, Captain Gon Erez, said that handcuffing is in
accordance with military police commander Instruction
No. 9810 concerning "Shackling with Handcuffs -
Security Detainees." It states that they're used to:
--prevent self-injury;
--
injury to another person or property; and
--
prevent escape from lawful custody.
Per
the military police commander's instruction, ordering
handcuffing, including the type, is to be made in
writing by the authorizing person, "and this decision
shall be examined on an individual basis." Further,
"handcuffing shall be in such a manner as is essential
in order to secure these goals and as an only and last
means to do so. Once the goal is reached, the
handcuffing of the security detainee is to be halted."
The facility military police commander and medical
officer must approve maintaining it for over 72 hours,
and handcuffs "shall be removed every three hours for
a period of fifteen minutes."
The
provisions of commander Instruction No. 9803, "The
Transfer and Removal of Detainees from a Detention
Facility," must also be followed. It states that:
"force is not to be exercised against a detainee for
the purpose of the transfer or removal of the detainee
from the incarceration facility unless it is
impossible to execute the mission without" it. It's
further established that "the use of force shall be in
a degree that is reasonable and essential for the
execution of the task and shall be adapted to the
circumstances....reasonable proportionality is to be
maintained between the desired goal and the extent of
the force that is exercised" that at all times "shall
serve as a last resort."
However, this instruction is vague on details during
transfer and removal of detainees from incarceration
facilities, thus granting soldiers a margin of leeway
to exercise their own judgment and let them be harsher
than necessary.
Nonetheless, the official reply acknowledges no legal
basis for painful shackling, yet the procedure "is
actually the case in the army" with no justification.
As a result of 574 documented abuse cases, PACTI wrote
to the West Bank judge advocate general and military
police commander on May 13, 2009 demanding that
soldiers henceforth be prohibited from using plastic
handcuffs as the first and only means of controlling
detainees from the time of arrest through their
transfer to interrogation facilities. All painful
restraint methods were also asked to be eliminated,
especially shackling detainees' hands behind their
back, and that procedures be established concerning
the method and length of detainees' held in restraint.
PACTI learned that plastic handcuffs can only be
tightened, not loosened or removed unless cut off.
Handcuffing During GSS Interrogations
During interrogations, detainees are isolated and
prevented from meeting with an attorney, family
members, or ICRC representatives. As a result, they're
"subjected entirely to the interrogators' control at
all times during the period of interrogation."
They're kept painfully handcuffed in various ways,
including "regular" protracted cuffing of hands behind
their back as well as their arms and forearms in
positions causing severe pain, suffering, and at times
permanent harm. PACTI calls "high cuffing" the most
extreme form.
GSS
interrogators claim the procedure is to protect
detainees' well being and prevent their escape.
However, they're kept in a secured, closed, carefully
guarded facility, making that likelihood nearly
impossible.
Detainees are placed on an unupholstered wood, metal,
or rigid plastic chair of standard office size. Both
hands are shackled behind their back with metal cuffs
connected by a short chain to the chair's seat. Most
often legs are also restrained, and the chair always
is fixed to the floor.
Detainees are held that way throughout interrogation
lasting many hours or days, except for short meal
breaks and even shorter bathroom ones. Protracted
sitting alone with no possibility of shifting
positions, standing, or stretching is itself extremely
uncomfortable. Being painfully shackled makes it much
worse, and any attempt to slightly adjust the hands
results in further tightening of the cuffs.
As
explained above, paresthesia often results that
includes loss of feeling, weakness, and pain in the
back, arms, wrists, shoulders and neck - the entire
upper body. Chest muscles are also strained, breathing
impeded, and long-term neurological damage is common.
The Scale of Cuffing Detainees with
Their Hands Behind Their Back
PACTI affidavits show it's widespread during all
interrogations, usually throughout the procedure. A
few testimonies describe the practice:
A.B,
aged 16 and a half, said his hands were cuffed behind
his back and attached to the chair's seat. His
testimony shows that even minors are subjected to the
same harsh treatment as adults. At one point during
the process, A.B. broke down and cried.
Samar Hasan Sus said:
"When the interrogation began, I was cuffed with my
hands behind the back of the chair I was sitting on.
The handcuffs were attached to the bottom of the seat
of the chair and I could not move my hands. The
handcuffs were made of metal." He complained to an
attorney about forearm, leg and back pain. PACTI
submitted a complaint on his behalf to no avail.
Dr.
Ghasan Sharif Muhammed Khaled said he was cuffed and
not allowed to change position. He said he was
subjected to intensive interrogation for eight days,
up to 22 hours a day, excluding Saturday and Sunday.
Throughout, he was painfully shackled with only rare
breaks of about 10 minutes. As a result, he
experienced severe pain in his tailbone, back, neck,
palms, and knees. He also sustained internal bruising
and his knees swelled. PACTI again complained, was
told the case was closed, and no corroboration was
found for Dr. Khaled's complaints.
Numerous other cases were much the same, and PACTI got
no substantive responses to its complaints. They also
learned that the only time interrogators unfastened
the restraints was when detainees said they wanted to
confess. Otherwise, painful shackling continued,
causing permanent damage and humiliation as well.
"High Handcuffing" in the Interrogation
Room
PACTI describes it as "any type of handcuffing in
which the detainees' hands are above the level of
their wrists, including cuffing of the forearms or
arms." It's extremely painful, can cause physical
injury, and if maintained for extended periods very
often permanent disability.
Detainee Jalal Khaled Momammed Sawafta describes it in
his affidavit:
He
was cuffed with a large metal bracelet. "They cuffed
my hands in the middle of the forearm (between the
wrist and the elbow). Each of two interrogators
pressed on the bracelet of the handcuff on my arm -
they both pressed together. It was terribly painful.
Of course, these handcuffs were in addition to the
regular handcuffs that were on my hands all the time,
so I had two pairs of handcuffs fastened behind my
back. (They) pressed on my arms hard. I cried out but
it didn't do any good."
Sawafta's hands are still numb. He can't move his
palms well, and they still feel cold all the time even
on hot days. He still has marks on his right hand and
wrist and "all kinds of bruises on both hands." Also,
his back hurts when sitting for a long time. He's
unable to write or hold a cigarette between his
fingers, and his hands are swollen and red.
On
his behalf, PACTI complained to Attorney General Meni
Mazuz. Even after a follow-up memo, no substantive
reply was gotten. Other detainees described the same
treatment. Some referred to "indescribable" pain, and
subsequent medical examination confirmed neurological
damage.
After repeated attempts on behalf of detainees,
Attorney Naomi Granot, Inspector of Interrogee
Complaints, closed the issue "on the grounds that the
findings of the mechanism for examining complaints by
interrogees did not warrant legal, disciplinary, or
other action against any of the GSS interrogators."
From
the clear evidence it got, PACTI concluded that
detainee rights were "gravely" violated and that no
redress would be forthcoming. Nonetheless, an appeal
to the prime minister was made, including demands to
prohibit painfully shackling, restrict the method and
frequency of less or non-painful restraints, and
assure future procedures only prevent detainees from
harming interrogators or escaping. PACTI wants new
rules, guidelines, and criteria in writing that comply
with international and Israeli law.
Response from the Prime Minister's
Office
In
January 2008, the Office of the Military Secretary to
the Prime Minister head, Major Shalom Ginzburg,
replied:
"It
has been decided to alleviate the condition of
interrogators by lengthening the chain in such a
manner that the interrogee will be able to place his
hands by the side of his body in a more comfortable
manner, without this impairing the security of the
interrogators or increasing the risk that the detainee
will escape from custody."
The
"high handcuffing" issue wasn't addressed, nor was
PACTI's demand for clear cuffing procedures. Nothing
fundamentally changed as repeated detainee complaints
were received. In response, PACTI contacted the
internal security minister "to ensure immediate
compliance with the decision of the Prime Minister's
Office on this matter."
In
May 2008, Col. (Ret.) Yuval Rivlin from the Office of
the Comptroller of the Ministry of Internal Security
(Public Complaints Office) replied stating:
"our
examination with the Israel Police has shown that
interrogees are not handcuffed during their
interrogation. The Israel Prison Service informs us
that the interrogation facilities are not under the
responsibility of the IPS."
In
December 2008, PACTI again wrote the prime minister
asking him to immediately prohibit painful cuffing,
including "high handcuffing" and to establish firm
procedures to be followed during interrogations.
In
February 2009, Ayelet Moshe from the Public Affairs
Department in the Prime Minister's Office stonewalled
by repeating earlier responses that produced no
substantive changes.
Painful Handcuffing Continues
Detainee testimonies reveal it:
Mu'ataz Suleiman Mohammed Qawasmeh described how his
hands were painfully cuffed behind his back with metal
cuffs connected by a 40 centimeter long chain fixed to
the back of the chair. While in this position, he was
intensively interrogated from 10 - 22 hours a day. As
a result, he suffers spinal and shoulder pain.
For
about 12 hours a day, Ahmad Samir Hassan Isma'il was
cuffed the same way for nearly five days. As a result,
he has lower back pain and paresthesia in both palms.
Others now experience various upper body pain in their
shoulders, neck, hands, arms, and elbows. They also
suffer from swollen red hands, paresthesia, and leg
pain for those whose legs were shackled.
Alaa
Nasser Dib Salem revealed more - painful hands and
feet shackling to a concrete bed in solitary
confinement for two days without interrogation. After
six hours, he experienced paresthesia throughout his
body. He was also denied access to the bathroom and
forced to urinate in his clothes. When he complained,
two men in civilian clothes tortured him by painfully
pressing on his cuffs, cursing him, and threatening to
torture his family. Salem was later beaten on all
parts of his body with a nightstick and lost
consciousness. When revived, he was shaking.
PACTI concluded that "The behavior of the
interrogators in these cases and in other similar
cases....indicates the use of handcuffing as a form of
torture in order to extract information unlawfully"
with interrogators often told anything to stop the
pain.
Non-Handcuffing of Detainees During
Police Interrogations
After GSS interrogations, detainees are questioned by
police, or at times interrogations are done
alternately for different purposes. GSS wants
information to protect state security while police
need it for subsequent prosecutions. During their
interrogations, cuffing isn't used, a clear sign that
GSS does it solely to inflict pain.
PACTI concludes that GSS interrogators use "systematic
handcuffing (for) extraneous motives....far removed
from the need to 'protect the safety of the
interrogators' or to 'prevent escape from custody.' "
Painful cuffing is used solely to torture, abuse, and
inflict permanent impairment. "This behavior is
inconsistent with the declared objectives and those
set in (international and Israeli) law...."
Shackling Sick Detainees and Prisoners
During Medical Treatment
One
case involved a shackled young man who was unconscious
after Israelis lynched him. Police refused to unfasten
his handcuffs in the hospital even though they impeded
treatment. Another case involved a hospitalized woman
shackled on her way for major surgery, then again
painfully after completion.
After being shot, Mohammed Ashkar was hospitalized
unconscious and placed in intensive care with a
ventilator attached to his mouth. Yet his hands were
cuffed to the bed, and his legs cuffed together. At
all times, four guards watched him. Ashkar
subsequently died from his wounds, still painfully
shackled. PACTI called his case "an appalling example
of inhumanity" and a shocking breach of medical ethics
for hospital staff to permit this.
The
December 1982 UN Declaration on the Principles of
Medical Ethics clearly states that:
--
"Health personnel, particularly physicians, charged
with the medical care of prisoners and detainees have
a duty to provide them with protection of their
physical and mental health and treatment of disease of
the same quality and standard as is afforded to those
who are not imprisoned or detained."
The
Declaration also prohibits actively or passively
participating in "torture or other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatement or punishment (and) assist(ing)
in the interrogation of prisoners or detainees in a
manner that may adversely affect (their) physical or
mental health or condition...."
In
response to PACTI's complaint about Ashkar's
treatment, IPS Attorney Tal Argaman on prisoners'
affairs said his shackling properly complied with
"confidential" procedures he wasn't at liberty to
disclose. PACTI nonetheless submitted a request in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Law,
5758-1998, but was denied on grounds of
confidentiality.
At a
subsequent meeting (attended by Physicians for Human
Rights representatives) with police, the IPS, Deputy
Attorney general (Criminal), Ministry of Internal
Security and Ministry of Health, PACTI learned that "IPS
security prisoners are considered dangerous and are
automatically shackled" while hospitalized, even if on
life support. The meeting ended inconclusively.
On
July 31, 2008, another meeting was held with the same
attendees as earlier. As a result, the IPS published
IPS Commission Order No. 04.15.01 concerning "the
shackling of a prisoner in a public place." For the
first time, it distinguished between levels of danger
for prisoners and detainees as follows:
--
those classified "level A" include all held for
security reasons to be shackled as authorities see
fit;
--
"level B" detainees may not be shackled, "subject to
individual examination;"
--
for minors, the handicapped, disabled, or sick,
shackling should be avoided, but isn't prohibited if
grounds are documented in writing;
--
during court proceedings, cuffing should be avoided,
"subject to individual examination;"
--
for hospitalized detainees, authorities should refrain
from shackling unless sufficient grounds are
presented; however, this doesn't apply to "level A"
detainees who'll be shackled at all times; this means
that anyone may be so classified and painfully
restrained.
PACTI concluded that the new order didn't alter "the
default practice of shackling." It continues
unabated.
Shackling from the Perspective of
International Law
International law is clear and unequivocal. Torture
amounting to cruel, inhuman, and/or humiliating
treatment is prohibited at all times, under all
circumstances, with no exceptions ever allowed,
including in times of war or imminent danger. This
prohibition is a rare example of a legal principle,
accepted as customary law that's binding on all
countries worldwide. Neither Israel or any other
nation may violate it no matter what conditions
exist.
In
addition, accepted principles for detainees and
prisoners were established in a non-binding July 1,
1957 UN resolution concerning Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners. They were adopted in
1955 by the First UN Congress on the Prevention of
Crime and Treatment of Offenders and were approved in
1957.
They
reflect accepted norms and standards concerning
prisoner treatment, including the prohibition of
shackling to inflict punishment under Section 33, but
allow it, with restrictions, to prevent escape during
transfer, provided:
--
cuffs are removed before detainees appear before a
judicial or administrative authority;
--
for medical reasons on instruction of a medical staff
member; and
--
on order of the incarceration facility's general
manger.
Even
when applied, doing it in a painful manner is
prohibited, and the Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ)
several times affirmed the standard under the 1988
Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons
under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment that
states:
"All
persons under any form of detention or imprisonment
shall be treated in a humane manner and with respect
for the inherent dignity of the human person."
Yet
the HCJ also legitimized coercive interrogations in
three 1996 cases involving plaintiffs Bilbeisi, Hamdan
and Mubarak seeking interim injunctions prohibiting
abusive GSS treatment, including painful shackling,
violent shaking, hooding, playing deafeningly loud
music, sleep deprivation, and lengthy detentions.
After further deliberation, the HCJ ruled painful
shackling illegal, but allowed the other practices,
even though Section 277 of Israel's 1977 Penal Law
prohibits torture and provides criminal sanctions
against its use. It specifically states:
"A
public servant who does one of the following is liable
to imprisonment for three years:
--
uses or directs the use of force or violence against a
person for the purpose of extorting from him or from
anyone in whom he is interested a confession of an
offense or information relating to an offense; or
--
threatens any person, or directs any person to be
threatened, with injury to his person or property or
to the person or property in whom he is interested for
the purpose of extorting from him a confession of an
offense or any information relating to an offense."
In
fact, this law applies solely to Jews, so Palestinians
are subjected to systematic torture and abuse,
including extended periods of injurious painful
shackling. In addition, the Penal Law has a giant
loophole "necessary defense" provision allowing
"psychological and moderate physical pressure" to
obtain evidence in criminal proceedings. It also
permits coercive interrogations against "hostile
(threats or acts of) terrorist activity" and all
expressions of Palestinian nationalism.
Then
in 1999, the HCJ ruled that coercive force may be used
in "ticking time bomb" cases that can be applied to
anyone designated a security threat or terrorist.
According to Israeli authorities, all expressions of
Palestinian nationalism, activism and resistance
against lawless oppression is "terrorism," opening the
way for Palestinian detainees to be tortured - defined
by international law as war crimes that impose
criminal liability on perpetrators, their authorizing
superiors, and the state itself.
Israel is a serial violator, so far unaccountable for
its grave breaches, yet potentially liable for its
actions as well as individuals at all security and
political levels engaged in state-sponsored policies
that willfully disregard binding international laws.
Under the well-established principle of "universal
jurisdiction," any nation may investigate and
prosecute foreign nationals for crimes against
humanity and war, including torture, cruel and abusive
treatment of detainees. In April 1961, Israel applied
it against Adolph Eichmann, and so has America against
figures like Panama's Manuel Noriega and Liberia's
Charles (Chuckie) Taylor. It may only be a matter of
time until the "law of averages" catches up with
Israeli war criminals. For their victims, it can't
come a moment too soon.
Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre
for Research on Globalization. He lives in Chicago and
can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his
blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The
Lendman News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday -
Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on world and
national issues. All programs are archived for easy
listening. http://republicbroadcasting.org/Lendman
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