KK-Forum,
sakser noe fra The Independent, London i dag om israelsk tortur.
Knut Rognes
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Israel admits Shin Bet tortured Palestinians
Secret report reveals systematic abuse of
detainees during intifada as uneasy calm
returns to Lebanon after bombing campaign
By Phil Reeves in Jerusalem
11 February 2000
Interrogators from Israel's security service
systematically abused Palestinian prisoners
during the intifada and repeatedly lied about
their actions, according to an official report that
has been published after being kept secret
for six years.
The report found that agents deliberately violated the law, and singled
out the Central Prison in the Gaza Strip, where veteran Israeli
investigators "carried out severe and systematic violations" which
their senior commanders did nothing to prevent.
The findings lend weight to the already overwhelming evidence
collected by human rights groups showing thatthe Israel general
security service (GSS) - or Shin Bet - tortured thousands of
prisoners during the four-year Palestinian uprising.
The report was the result of an investigation by the then Israeli
comptroller, Miriam Ben-Porat, carried out between 1988 and 1992. It
was submitted to a parliamentary intelligence subcommittee in 1995,
but was suppressed until this week when - acting on a
recommendation of the Israeli Supreme Court - the subcommittee
released a carefully edited nine-page summary.
This did not specify details of the widespread abuses. But during the
intifada - and for years before it - human rights groups accused Israel
of torturing Palestinians with electric shocks to the genitals, beatings,
threats of sterilisation and death, confinement in tiny cells (called
coffins) and food and sleep deprivation. Often the victims were
arrested for minor offences, such as throwing stones, and held
without charge for weeks.
The report scathingly concludes that Shin Bet interrogators broke the
law, their own internal guidelines, and the recommendations by a
government commission in 1987 which allowed "moderate physical
pressure" - a catch-allthat authorised violent shaking, covering
prisoners' heads with evil-smelling hoods, sleep deprivation and
shackling in excruciatingly painful positions.
"Most of the violations were not caused by lack of knowledge of the
line between what was permitted and what was forbidden, but were
committed knowingly," it said. The leadership of Shin Bet knew about
the violations, but did not intervene. The agents themselves did their
best to cover them up, lying about their activities in court, and
concocting false reports for their superiors.
The findings coincide with a heated debate about the use of torture
which has divided Israel between those who abhor torture - and look
with horror at the past - and those who believe it is necessary to keep
the country safe from Palestinian attacks.
After continuing pressure to reform from human rights groups, and the
United Nations Committee on Torture, Israel's High Court of Justice
ruled in September that the use of "moderate physical pressure" -
sanctioned by the 1987 commission - must also be banned.
This prompted angry complaints from the security service that this
would make it much harder to extract information from suspects -
particularly those believed to be planning attacks within Israel. The
right-wing, and a sizeable part of public opinion, agreed. The premier,
Ehud Barak, a former army chief, also appeared to sympathise and set
up a committee to inquire into the issue.
Forty-seven members of the Knesset are now pressing to put a new
law through parliament allowing Shin Bet agents to use force in
"exceptional" cases - a move that human rights groups believe will
mean a swift return to legalised torture. Similar views have been
expressed by Israel's Justice Minister, Yossi Beilen, who has
described it as a "terrible mistake".
Defenders of Shin Bet's repeated use of illegal torture methods - many
of which are now practised by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian security
services - point out that the security agency was dealing with a huge
rise in detainees during a difficult and violent period which threatened
Israel's stability.
The former head of Shin Bet, Yaakov Peri, has declared the report has
no public value, and that the service has since mended its ways. But
this will convince neither the human rights lobby - which has
monitored years of Israeli torture - nor the many victims of Shin Bet's
brutality.
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