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Last update - 17:07 24/06/2009
Rights group: IDF, Shin Bet restraint practices tantamount to torture
By Haaretz Service
Tags: Palestinian prisoners 
Israeli security forces inflicting 'pain and humiliation' on Palestinian detainees, says group report.

Israel's security services came under fire on Wednesday for its methods of restraining Palestinian prisoners during questioning, which a new report claims are tantamount to torture.

The report by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) describes "pain and humiliation" suffered by Palestinian detainees at the hands of members of the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service.

The report, which is based on interviews and investigations into 574 arrests and interrogations over the last year, argues that Israeli organizations, in particular the IDF and the Shin Bet, habitually bind detainees in a painful and humiliating manner, often constituting torture.
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In defiance of Israeli law, High Court rulings and international laws and guidelines, detainees in Israel are usually bound in a way that is designed to cause them pain, and not only to prevent them from escaping, the report says.

This binding, the report says, is implemented with the express purpose of punishing detainees, frightening them and illegally extracting information and even confessions. The report claims that a large proportion of those exposed to this practice are Palestinian security prisoners, but this approach has also begun to manifest itself in the treatment of other prisoners.

"It stands to reason that this type of binding is used to dehumanize the Palestinian detainee, who is subject to the mercy of the occupying regime," the report says. "This type of behavior by members of the authorities, as this report demonstrates, can be classified as humiliating at the very least, and in certain cases as abuse and torture, which are prohibited both morally and by law."

The report begins with the committee's mission statement, explaining that the group was established in 1990 "in response to long standing government policy that allowed the systematic use of torture and abuse during Shin Bet interrogations."

"The committee operates to protect the rights of detainees and prisoners and to promote an absolute ban on torture, as is dictated by democracy and moral values, as well as international law," the group declares.

The IDF told Channel 10 TV in response to the report that the military adheres to international law and Israeli law and abides by all the guidelines when it comes to the detention of "terror activists who endanger the security of the state of Israel and the safety of its citizens."

The IDF makes a point to ensure the safety of all detainees from the moment of their capture, the army said, adding that it views with severity any unnecessary harm caused to detainees, and thoroughly investigates all claims of abuse, taking punitive action where necessary.

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      1.   of course 11:31  |  potobac 24/06/09
      2.   surprised the answer is no. 12:07  |  C2 24/06/09
      3.   Nonsense ,look at pictures of the French police 12:38  |  Absolute Sweden 24/06/09
      4.   What about IDF prisoners like Shalit??no other comment is needed 12:49  |  Daniel 24/06/09
      5.   Is GIlad Shalit alive? 13:38  |  petra 24/06/09
      6.   Israel binding 13:45  |  Frank Mazuca 24/06/09
      7.   daniel 3 13:47  |  potobac 24/06/09
      8.   To Daniel 14:26  |  David James Vickery 24/06/09
      9.   Can we get news rather than press releases? 16:14  |  Jacob Blues 24/06/09
      10.   Well, of course.... 16:16  |  Silvienne 24/06/09
      11.   No David James Vickery, Shalit has not been treated humanely 16:16  |  Jacob Blues 24/06/09
      12.   #7 Potobac re Daniel 17:48  |  H 24/06/09
      13.   Rights Group = Brain Dead Morons 18:33  |  Gary 24/06/09
      14.   Wearing of headscarf tantamount to torture too!!! 18:49  |  arthur 24/06/09
      15.   h 12 19:09  |  potobac 24/06/09
      16.   Hypocrisy 19:11  |  Seward 24/06/09
      17.   Who funds PCATI? Just wondering.. EU? Saudis? 19:11  |  Maya 24/06/09
      18.   You Folks Are Lameos 19:17  |  Brendan 24/06/09
      19.   Israel`s image is marred so badly, that noone will believe them 19:28  |  Kris Lazar 24/06/09
      20.   #4 we are talking 1:10000 ratio. oh please. 20:04  |  sami 24/06/09
      21.   Torture? Compared To What? 21:00  |  Heather Czerniak 24/06/09
      22.   Imagine how many attacks was foiled 21:12  |  JP 24/06/09
      23.   The most moral army in the world 21:47  |  yuval 24/06/09
      24.   Maya, PCATI`s major doners can be found on its website 21:49  |  Jacob Blues 24/06/09
      25.   #22....Rubbish!! 03:18  |  Silvienne 25/06/09
      26.   What? 13:04  |  Pablo Luis 25/06/09
      27.   Dehumanize Who 13:39  |  RME 25/06/09
      28.   heather czerniak 14:12  |  potobac 25/06/09
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