Almost all Palestinian detainees are tortured

The head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club claimed on Tuesday that almost all Palestinians who are detained by the Israelis, 95 per cent of men and women alike, are tortured.

Qaddura Fares explained that an investigation published by Haaretz about the torture of detainees is fabricated and based on false data about those who are tortured. This data, he said, was obtained from Shin Bet, laying the newspaper open to criticism as a mouthpiece for Israel’s internal security agency.

The Prisoners’ Club drew attention to the fact that Israeli occupation security forces use different types of torture with prisoners from the first moment of their arrest until they are taken to detention centres and prisons. Such treatment includes physical torture, denial of medical assistance for wounds received during the arrest procedure and being attacked by police dogs, as well as severe beatings with fists, rifles butts and boots. Prisoners are often handcuffed, blindfolded and kept outside in the open air for many hours, regardless of the weather conditions. Solitary confinement is another tactic employed by the Israelis against Palestinians.

There is also a degree of psychological torture, insisted Fares. Family members as well as the detainees are intimidated, particularly women and children.

Story syndicated from Alamat Online – Quds Press.