From hr@derechos.org Wed Dec 11 10:23:32 1996
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 09:42:20 -0800 (PST)
From: Derechos Human Rights
To: hr-actions@lists.best.com
Subject: Israel: The Impact of Torture Legislation
The Human Rights Actions Network - Derechos Human Rights
http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/actions/
Case ISR 101296
The International Secretariat of OMCT/SOS-Torture requests your URGENT
intervention in the following situation in Israel.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat has been informed, by reliable sources,
of the President of the Israeli High Court's, Aaron Barak, approval of
the prolonged incommunicado detention and interrogation of Muhanned
Abu Rumi, 21, an engineering student from Essawiye, West Bank. The
decision was issued in response to a petition submitted by the
Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the
Environment ("LAWE").
According to the information received, Abu Rumi was arrested in Hebron
outside his college, eighteen days ago. Since then, he has been under
continuous interrogation by the Israeli secret police in the Russian
Compound in Jerusalem. From the start of his interrogation, he has
been prevented from any contact with his legal representatives.
On December 4, LAW submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court of
Justice demanding that the Israeli Secret Police allow the lawyers to
visit Abu Rumi. On December 5, the High Court heard oral arguments
after notifying LAW's attorneys only 90 minutes before the hearing.
Under the circumstances there are grave fears that denial of the
lawyer's visit is being used by the Israeli authorities to conceal the
torture of Abu Rumi. Although the state attorney has denied that Mr
Abu Rumi is being tortured it was admitted that his head was covered
with a sack and that he was handcuffed to a chair.
It is believed that the court accepted the state's contention without,
which is of grave concern given the routine use of force during
interrogations. Moreover, the court failed to demand from the secret
police to refrain from using torture for the rest of the
interrogation.
Israeli law prohibits incommunicado detention for more than 15 days.
However, the court accepted the state attorney's argument that since
Abu Rumi was from the West Bank, the Israeli law did not apply and
thus, a different, more lax legal standard could be applied.
Furthermore, during the proceedings, Mr Abu Rumi's attorney was asked
to leave the courtroom so that the secret police could present its
secret evidence to the three High Court Justices. After twenty
minutes, his lawyer was summoned and the Justices issued their
decision rejecting the petition.
Justice Aaron Barak stated that the secret evidence "comforted his
mind" to reject the petition, even though the state admitted that it
is likely that the incommunicado detention will continue next week.
The court failed to put any limitations on the length of the
prohibition of the lawyer's visit.
COMMENT:
Numerous States, party to the Convention Against Torture are regularly
the object of concern for practices which are incompatible with their
obligations to end the practice of torture. It is however extremely
rare, and to our knowledge without precedent in recent history, that a
State party to the Convention legalises the practice of torture be it
through parliamentary or judicial means.
This however, has happened in Israel.
During the initial report presented by Israel and discussed during the
183rd and 184th meeting of the Committee, 25 April 1994, the Committee
made several very clear recommendations. Amongst many other strong
statements the recommendations underlined that:
" The Landau Commission Report, permitting as it does moderate
physical pressure; as a lawful mode is completely unacceptable to this
Committee:
a/ As for the most part creating conditions living to the risk of
torture or cruel, or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
b/ By retaining in secret the crucial standards of interrogation to
be applied in any case, such secrecy being a further condition leading
inevitably to some cases of ill-treatment contrary to the Convention
against Torture."
Not only has the position of the Committee been completely ignored by
the Israeli authorities but in two recent decisions adopted, the
first, the 11th January 1996 in the case of Mr Abed al-Khalim Bilbisi,
the other, on 14th November 1996, in the case of Mr Khader Mubaraq,
the Supreme Court expressly authorised the Security forces to conduct
interrogations using physical pressure.
This physical pressure can include "shaking, sleep deprivation for a
long period, being held in a painful position on a small chair with
hands handcuffed behind the back of the chair in a painful manner,
head covered with a stinking sack and with loud music played in the
ears".
These practices violate the Convention Against Torture and have not
only become the mode of interrogation used in a quasi systematic
manner by the Security Forces, but have now been legalised by the
jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Israel.
OMCT has repeatedly reminded the Israel authorities of its obligations
in bilateral communications and has intervened directly on 6 occasions
this year: Case references ISR 090196, ISR 070296, ISR 030696, ISR
160796 CC, ISR 300996 CC, ISR 081196
Clearly with the above precedents, OMCT can only express its gravest
fear for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Abu Rumi and
given the circumstances surrounding his prolonged and arbitrary
detention, OMCT is forced to assume the worst.
Action requested:
Please write to the Israeli authorities demanding that they:
i guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr
Muhanned Abu Rumi;
ii order the immediate release of Muhanned Abu Rumi if he is
detained without valid charges or, if such charges exist, bring
him before a competent and impartial tribunal and guarantee his
procedural rights at all times;
iii bring an immediate end to the use of torture and the judicial
sanctionning of its use in Israel;
iv take all necessary measures to conform with its obligations
established by the Convention Against Torture.
Addresses :
Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, Office of the Prime Minister, 3 Kaplan Street,
Jerusalem 91919, State of Israel. Telex : 25279 mpres il. Fax : + 972
2 66 48 38 or + 972 3 69 17 915
Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, 29 Salah al-Din Street,
Jerusalem 91029, State of Israel.
Fax : + 972 2 285 438
Geneva, 10 December 1996.
Kindly inform us of any undertaken action quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.
Ben Schonveld
Projects Manager
OMCT - SOS Torture Tel: +41-22-733 31 40
Case Postale 119 Fax: +41 22-733 10 51
CH 1211 Geneva 20 Conf: omctsostorture@conf.igc.apc.org
Switzerland OMCT@iprolink.ch
OMCT is the l'Organisation Mondiale contre la Torture
The World Organisation Against Torture
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