Israel ‘using torture, sexual assault with dogs’ in prisons

A Palestinian released from an Israeli prison recently has revealed some of the “horrific” torture of detainees by prison staff, including the use of dogs to assault them sexually.

Adham Mansour, 45, told journalists that Palestinian prisoners are subjected to “beatings, [physical and verbal] insults, and poor conditions, including being attacked by dogs.” He alleged that, in some instances, “dogs were used to sexually assault the prisoners.”

Mansour’s weight, he pointed out, has fallen from 80 kilograms to 55 kilograms since he was arrested on 22 December, 2023. He explained that detainees suffer from “countless” infectious diseases, without any available medical treatment, and that overcrowding is a major issue, with tents housing at least 45 people each. Alleging medical neglect by prison staff, he said that like many prisoners he caught scabies in prison.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said that the physical and mental conditions of freed prisoners reflect the aggravated “atrocities” committed against them. “Now that 183 prisoners have been released [as part of the exchange deal], their appearances and health conditions reflect the grave atrocities that they have suffered in [Israeli] prisons.”

The NGO Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor issued a report last June documenting the Israeli army’s “systematic use” of police dogs to attack Palestinian civilians during military operations in the Gaza Strip.  “The dogs are also used to intimidate, beat and sexually assault prisoners and detainees in Israeli detention facilities,” it added.

In July last year, ten Israeli reserve soldiers who worked as guards at the Sde Teiman detention camp were arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a Palestinian prisoner, which resulted in serious injuries.

READ: Israel court sentences soldier to ‘woefully inadequate’ 7 months in jail for abusing Palestinian prisoners