TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT Israel's Interrogation of Palestinians from the Occupied Territories Human Rights Watch/Middle East (formerly Middle East Watch) Human Rights Watch New York $ Washington $ Los Angeles $ London Copyright 8 June 1994 by Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 94-76875 ISBN 1-56432-136-3 Human Rights Watch/Middle East (formerly Middle East Watch) Human Rights Watch/Middle East was established in 1989 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Christopher George is the executive director; Eric Goldstein is the research director; Aziz Abu Hamad and Virginia N. Sherry are associate directors; Suzanne Howard is the associate. Joost Hiltermann is director and Shorsh Resool is researcher for the Kurds Project. Gary Sick is the chair of the advisory committee and Lisa Anderson and Bruce Rabb are vice chairs. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Human Rights Watch conducts regular, systematic investigations of human rights abuses in some seventy countries around the world. It addresses the human rights practices of governments of all political stripes, of all geopolitical alignments, and of all ethnic and religious persuasions. In internal wars it documents violations by both governments and rebel groups. Human Rights Watch defends freedom of thought and expression, due process and equal protection of the law; it documents and denounces murders, disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, exile, censorship and other abuses of internationally recognized human rights. Human Rights Watch began in 1978 with the founding of its Helsinki division. Today, it includes five divisions covering Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, as well as the signatories of the Helsinki accords. It also includes five collaborative projects on arms, children's rights, free expression, prison conditions, and women's rights. It maintains offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, London, Brussels, Moscow, Belgrade, Zagreb and Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Cynthia Brown, program director; Holly J. Burkhalter, advocacy director; Allyson Collins, research associate; Richard Dicker, associate counsel; Jamie Fellner, foundation relations director; Hamilton Fish, Jr., senior advisor; Barbara Guglielmo, controller; Robert Kimzey, publications director; Gara LaMarche, associate director; Liselotte Leicht, Brussels office director; Michal Longfelder, development director; Ellen Lutz, California director; Juan Méndez, general counsel; Susan Osnos, communications director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Rachel Weintraub, special events director; and Derrick Wong, finance and administration director. The regional directors of Human Rights Watch are Abdullahi An-Na'im, Africa; Cindy Arnson and Anne Manuel (acting directors), Americas; Sidney Jones, Asia; Jeri Laber, Helsinki; and Christopher George, Middle East. The project directors are Kenneth Anderson, Arms Project; Lois Whitman, Children's Rights Project; Gara LaMarche, Free Expression Project; Joanna Weschler, Prison Project; and Dorothy Q. Thomas, Women's Rights Project. The board includes Robert L. Bernstein, chair; Adrian W. DeWind, vice chair; Roland Algrant, Lisa Anderson, Peter D. Bell, Alice L. Brown, William Carmichael, Dorothy Cullman, Irene Diamond, Jonathan Fanton, Alan Finberg, Jack Greenberg, Alice H. Henkin, Stephen L. Kass, Marina Pinto Kaufman, Alexander MacGregor, Peter Osnos, Kathleen Peratis, Bruce Rabb, Orville Schell, Gary G. Sick, Malcolm Smith, Maureen White, and Rosalind C. Whitehead. Addresses for Human Rights Watch 485 Fifth Avenue 1522 K Street, N.W., #910 New York, NY 10017-6104 Washington, DC 20005 Tel: (212) 972-8400 Tel: (202) 371-6592 Fax: (212) 972-0905 Fax: (202) 371-0124 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] 10951 West Pico Blvd., #203 33 Islington High Street Los Angeles, CA 90064 London, UK N1 9LH Tel: (310) 475-3070 Tel: (071) 713-1995 Fax: (310) 475-5613 Fax: (071) 713-1800 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS x Recommendations to the Government of Israelxii Recommendations to the U.S. Government xv Recommendations to Member States of the European Unionxviii 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Systematic and Government-approved Abuse 6 Techniques of Abuse 8 The Sample Used in This Report 11 Torture and International Law 11 The Interrogation Agencies 13 Torture and Ill-treatment since September 1993 18 2: THE SAMPLE USED IN THIS REPORT 24 Methods of Contacting Interrogation Subjects 26 Profiles of Detainees Interviewed for this Report 30 GSS Interrogations 30 IDF Interrogations 36 Testimonies Collected by Lawyers from Persons Still in Detention 43 3: ISRAEL'S INTERROGATION PRACTICES 46 1967-1987: Denial 46 The "Bureaucratization of Torture" 47 The Early Years of the Intifada: 1988B1991 53 Trends Since 1991: Standardization 55 A Court Challenge to the Classified GSS Interrogation Guidelines................................... 58 Abuses by IDF Interrogators: A Neglected Problem 63 v 4: MONITORING ABUSE 66 International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva) 66 B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (Jerusalem) 68 Al-Haq (Ramallah, West Bank) 69 The Palestine Human Rights Information Center (Jerusalem) 71 Amnesty International (London) 71 5: THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK 73 Torture in International Law 73 Recognizing and Defining Torture Psychological Versus Physical Methods........................... 77 "Low-visibility Torture" 78 Northern Ireland and the "Five Techniques" 79 Torture and Mistreatment in Israeli Law 83 6: THE ARREST EXPERIENCE 88 Failure to Inform 89 Beating and Ill-treatment en route to Interrogation Facilities ........................................ 89 In Holding Facilities 91 7: ISRAELI INTERROGATION CENTERS: A CLOSED WORLD 94 8: THE MILITARY COURTS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES 99 Legal Procedures Governing Arrest and Interrogation in the Occupied Territories101 The Right to be Brought Promptly before a Judge103 The Right to Adequate and Timely Access to Lawyers106 9: METHODS OF INTERROGATION108 During versus Between Questioning Sessions109 vi 10: ABUSIVE BODY POSITIONING111 "Waiting"112 Abusive Body Positioning C GSS Interrogations114 Abusive Body Positioning C IDF Interrogations135 11: SUBJECTION TO TEMPERATURE EXTREMES147 Mechanically Induced Temperature Changes147 Exposure to Adverse Weather152 12: PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION155 Sleep Deprivation163 Isolation174 Subjection to Loud, Continual Noise175 Toilet Deprivation and Humiliation177 Deprivation of Personal Hygiene180 Space Deprivation181 13: BEATING AND VIOLENT SHAKING187 GSS Interrogations187 IDF Interrogations190 14: THE USE OF THREATS199 15: THE ROLE OF PALESTINIAN COLLABORATORS IN INTERROGATIONS205 16: THE COMPLICITY OF MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT209 17: POLICE INTERROGATIONS233 18: THE ADMISSIBILITY OF COERCED CONFESSIONS241 The Role of Corroborating Evidence245 Contesting Confessions246 Obstacles Facing Palestinians in Mini-Trials251 Pressures to Plea-Bargain261 vii 19: DEATHS UNDER INTERROGATION264 Mustafa Akawi265 Ayman Sa'id Nassar269 Mustafa Barakat271 Hazem Eid273 20: ISRAEL'S RECORD IN PUNISHING ABUSERS275 Investigative Bodies281 APPENDIX A: THE INTERROGATORS284 APPENDIX B: SOLDIERS INTERVIEWED FOR THIS REPORT286 APPENDIX C: TESTIMONY OF AHMED AL-BATSH287 APPENDIX D: TESTIMONY OF MUHAMMAD ANIS ABU HIKMEH296 APPENDIX E: TESTIMONY OF SGT. TAL RAVIV301 APPENDIX F: TESTIMONY OF SGT. A.M.305 APPENDIX G: DECLASSIFIED GSS INTERROGATION LOG312 viii Contents ix ix x Israeli-Occupied Territories: Torture and Ill-Treatment x Contents xi xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The principal writer and researcher of this report is James Ron, a consultant to Human Rights Watch/Middle East. Eric Goldstein, research director of Human Rights Watch/Middle East, researched and wrote several sections, and was the principal editor. Cynthia Brown, program director of Human Rights Watch, was the final editor. Consultant Walid Batrawi gave valuable help and guidance in the field. Fatemeh Ziai, the Orville Schell Fellow with Human Rights Watch, provided research on international law. Human Rights Watch/Middle East Associate Suzanne Howard and Human Rights Watch Associate Bettye Payne were responsible for the production, and Elizabeth Wilcox and Bryce Giddens helped with copy editing. The illustrations in this report were prepared by JFRA Design of Ramallah. Of the many human rights attorneys who provided guidance on Israeli law and the military courts, five deserve special mention: Eliahu Avram and Tamar Pelleg-Sryck of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Shlomo Lecker, Ali Naouq, and Lea Tsemel. Lisa Hajjar and Melissa Phillips read drafts and gave extensive and valuable suggestions. This report would not have been possible without the assistance of several human rights organizations, although responsibility for the findings rest solely with Human Rights Watch. Emma Naughton, of Birzeit University's Human Rights Project, shared data and helped to arrange meetings with ex-detainees. Al-Haq, the Ramallah-based affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists, and B'Tselem, the Israeli Information