-Caveat Lector-
15 July 2001
Press Release
Torture of Palestinian Minors at the Gush Etzion Police Station
Today, B'Tselem is publishing a report exposing the torture and abuse of
Palestinian minors detained at the Police station in Gush Etzion.
The report contains testimonies of ten boys, aged fourteen to seventeen, who
were arrested between October 2000 and January 2001 on suspicion of throwing
stones. In most of the cases, the Police arrested them at their homes in the
middle of the late night and took them to the Police station in Gush Etzion,
where Police interrogators tortured them until morning. The Police objective
was to obtain confessions and information about other minors.
These are not isolated cases or uncommon conduct by certain police officers,
and information received by B'Tselem raises the serious likelihood that
torture during interrogations at the Gush Etzion Police station continues.
The methods of torture described in the report include:
* Forcing the minors to stand in painful positions for prolonged
periods;
* Beating the minors severely for many hours, at times with the use of
various objects;
* Splashing cold water on the detainees in the facility's courtyard in
wintry conditions;
* Pushing the minor's head into the toilet bowl and flushing the
toilet;
* Making death threats;
* Cursing and degrading the minors.
Excerpts from testimonies appearing in this report.
Torture of Palestinian Minors at the Gush Etzion Police Station
>From the testimony of Ibrahim Za'ul, 16:
They brought me to another room. Inside was an officer who
identified himself as "Ayub." He said that he is a merciless person and is
ready to kill me if I don't tell him the name of the youths who threw
stones... Another guy opened the door and said in Arabic that Ahmad 'Aref
Sabatin had died during interrogation. The officer turned to me and said,
"What are we going to do with the body of Ahmad Sabatin, what do you say
Ibrahim, what do you think? Do you want to change places with Ahmad? [...] I
was blindfolded. The interrogator said that he was going to electrocute me
and that I would die like Ahmad. I felt the sensation of two iron wires
being stuck on me, but nothing happened... I was taken to the room where
Ahmad Sabatin was. The interrogators began to beat him right in front of me.
Ahmad began to cry and scream at the top of his voice. I asked them to stop
because Ahmad did not throw stones, and I told them that I was ready to
confess that I threw stones.
>From the testimony of Isma'il Sabatin, 17:
The interrogators ordered me to get into a position with my legs up
and my head down while I was leaning on the wall. They left the room and
ordered me to stay there until they returned. Later, they stood me on a
chair and told me to grab a pipe that was fixed to the wall. They removed
the chair from under me and left me hanging in the air, with my handcuffed
hands holding onto the pipe and the weight of my body, hanging in the air,
drawing my hands downwards. They left the room.
>From the testimony of Sultan Mahdi, 15:
The soldiers took me to a room and sat me down on a chair. One of
them took off the handcuffs and tied my hands and feet to the chair's
legs.... They asked if I threw stones at army vehicles on the main road. At
first, I denied that I did. But two or three of them started to beat me in
the face and head. The interrogation lasted for around five hours... At the
end, they took me to the bathroom near the interrogation room. One of the
interrogators grabbed me by the hair and put my head in the toilet. I was
frightened. When they took me back to the interrogation room, I decided to
confess. I told them that I threw five stones at a settler's vehicle. They
wrote up a detailed testimony and forced me to sign it.
>From the testimony of Muhammad Sabatin, 14:
Four policemen took me, searched me, beat me in front of my parents
and ordered them to get out immediately. A strong, dark-skinned man of
average height who was dressed in civilian clothes arrived. He beat me with
great force, kicked me for about five minutes, and put me in a room where
four policemen were seated... Two of the policemen bound my hands and feet,
blindfolded me, and took me to a room that I couldn't see. The four of them
took turns beating me for around four hours. They struck me with a mop
stick, kicked me all over my body, and swore at me in filthy language.
B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied
Territories is the leading Israeli organization monitoring, documenting and
advocating to improve human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Founded
in 1989, B'Tselem publishes reports, engages in advocacy and serves as a
resource center.
8 HaTa'asiya St. (4th Floor),
Talpiot, Jerusalem 93420, Israel
Telephone: 02-6735599, Fax: 02-6749111
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<http://www.btselem.org>
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