Israeli High Court okays Torture

[Sid Shniad <shniad@xxxxxx>]

PRESS RELEASE 					13 January 1998

Israeli High Court Legalizes Torture

The Israeli High Court (IHC) once again ruled to allow GSS (General
Security Service) interrogators to be able to use torture methods against
Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

On 12 January 1988 the IHC reviewed an appeal submitted on behalf of
Abdel Rahman Ghunimat which called for a stop to the use of torture
methods upon him. Ghunimat, a Palestinian from a village near Hebron, is
accused of being a member of the military wing of Hamas.

The Court was unexpectedly composed of nine judges. After convening to
review the appeal, the IHC decided to allow GSS personnel to continue to
use torture methods upon Ghunimat. The decision, made by the bare
minimum of five judges, sanctioned the continued use of such torture
methods as al-shabeh (contorting the prisoner into painful positions), sleep
deprivation, noise exposure, hooding, and the use of violent shaking (which
resulted in the death of another prisoner, Abdel Sammad Hurizat, on 25
April 1995).

The legalization of torture in Israel - the shielding of an official and
systematic policy under legal cover - is hardly a new matter. The
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), as well as other human
rights organizations have issued numerous press releases concerning such
practices.

What is novel in this case, however, is that, this time, the IHC was
composed of nine judges. Moreover, the decision just barely passed. This
may reflect the seriousness of the appeal. Ultimately, however, the IHC
ruled to reaffirm an Israeli policy of torture, one given firm legal basis.

The IHC decision is criminal and reprehensible. It only displays the extent
of the Israeli legal institution's imprisonment to the imperatives of the GSS
and the Israeli security apparatus. Israel is the only country in the world
that provides legal cover for torture. While most democracies have at least
made the show of outlawing the use of torture, the IHC has moved to
reaffirm the place of torture in Israeli policy.

The IHC decision is a flagrant violation of the principles of international
law and human rights. The Fourth Geneva Convention in 1949 absolutely
banned the use of torture. It regarded torture as a war crime and stipulated
that perpetrators be punished as such. The 1984 UN Convention against
Torture, of which Israel was a signatory, stipulated, in Article 2.1, that
"...".

The Israeli government usually justifies its use of torture on security
grounds, citing that such practices are really preventive, and that
information obtained after "moderate physical pressure" may save lives.
This claim has absolutely no validity, legally or in practice. The Convention
against Torture, in Article 2.2, stated, "..."

The IHC decision comes at a time when the Israelis should, according to
the peace agreement and in the spirit of the process, be working on
confidence-building measures. The PCHR considers the IHC decision as
internationally illegal and highly dangerous. The PCHR categorically
condemns the decision. Steps must be taken to counteract the IHC ruling.
Appeals are in order to 1) the international community, international/human
rights organizations, and the individual; 2) the signatory nations to the
Fourth Geneva Convention (which meets next February); and 3) world
powers, especially Western democracies, who are empowered to desist
support of Israel until it complies with international law, issue a
condemnation of its torture practices, and call for a reversal to the IHC
decision.

To condemn the recent IHC decision, please contact one or more of the
following:

Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister
Fax #: 03-6917915

Yizhak Mordechai
Minister of Defense
Fax #: 03-6976218

Tzachi Hanegbi
Minister of Justice
Fax #: 02-6285438

Judge Aharon Barak
Chief Justice of the Israeli High Court
Fax #: 02-6759648

For More Information contact:

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Tel\Fax: 972 7 824776\825893
E-mail: pchr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx