Three Sudanese survivors of the genocide in Darfur who entered Israel illegally were handcuffed for days straight after their arrest by security forces, attorneys said Tuesday. The refugees, who are demanding NIS 420,000 in damages, have stated that they were not allowed to shower and were denied access to legal council for an extended period of time.

"The plaintiffs, who fled the horror of the war in Sudan, knocked on the doors of Israel, desperate for refuge. Instead, they were immediately arrested and bound in handcuffs, which were not released for one moment after that," said attorneys from the human rights program at Tel Aviv University Law School.

According to the lawsuit, the refugees were dealt harsh treatment in spite of the fact that security forces had already been informed that Sudanese refugees had crossed the border with Egypt. In addition, the refugees did not resist arrest, having already turned themselves in to IDF forces in the area.

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It was also clear that the refugees were not smuggling anything into Israel as they crossed the border with only the clothes on their backs, according to attorney Hicham Chabaita.

The first plaintiff, aged 27, is a Sudanese citizen who underwent torture at the hands of the Sudanese government, under suspicion that he aided residents of Darfur. He fled Sudan for Egypt in 2001, and crossed into Israel on June 26, 2005 along with a 31-year-old refugee from Darfur, the second plaintiff in the case. The third plaintiff is a 37-year-old refugee who fled Sudan after his wife and son were murdered in an attack on their village in Darfur, crossing the border from Egypt to Israel in July 2005.

The three plaintiffs were arrested immediately after crossing the border of Israel, and their hands were bound in handcuffs. They were then detained in this fashion inside a closed secure facility 24 hours a day, according to the lawsuit.

Two of the defendants were allegedly left handcuffed in the facility for four days, and the third for three days. Two of the plaintiffs were also allegedly brought before a legal proceeding after four days, and the third after 19, even though according to Israeli law defendants must be brought before legal proceedings within 24 hours of arrest.

Eventually, the plaintiffs were transferred from the original facility to Maasiyahu prison, and a few months later they were released to alternative detainment at Kibbutz Eilot.