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Palestinian women prisoners strip-searched by Israeli special forces

February 20, 2014 at 3:33 pm

The Ahrar Centre for Prisoner Studies and Human Rights has reported claims that Palestinian female detainees have been strip-searched by Israeli special forces. The invasive tactic took place in HaSharon Prison a section of which was stormed by the troops in a violent fashion. Four women prisoners were targetted during the raid.

Ten female and five male guards, as well as an intelligence officer and the director of Room 2 (the special section) took part. They searched each woman in the room. According to the prisoners, each was stripped naked and searched in a humiliating manner.


The Director of Ahrar Centre, Fouad Al Khuffash, condemned the search operation and said it did not respect the privacy of Palestinian women prisoners and took place under a very flimsy pretext; the prison authorities claimed that they were looking for a mobile phone allegedly smuggled into the room.

Mr Al Khuffash expressed his deep concern that the humiliating search took place in a very small room behind a light plastic curtain. The prisoners, he said, were panic stricken in case prison guards came in during the strip-search; guards had been standing at the door preparing to enter.

The prisoners noted that the search process lasted for six hours during which the room and contents were turned upside down; even the bathroom tiles were lifted, the window of the main door was removed, and prisoners’ possessions were thrown out of the room.