Sunday, June 22, 2008

Israeli non-government organization accuses IOF of abusing Palestinian detainees


"OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), a non-government organization, has accused the Israeli occupation forces of regularly abusing Palestinian detainees including minors.

The PCATI, in its annual report published on Sunday, registered 90 cases of abuse in which violence was used against those detainees either on their arrest, on their way to detention or during incarceration.

It said that the abuse was also reported against minors who should enjoy special protection in accordance with the international law, and added, "The soldiers do not treat the minors with care and often, as various reports show, they take advantage of their weakness".

"Many reports state that the alleged abuse occurred while the Palestinians were bound and did not constitute a threat to the soldiers," the organization said in its report that covered the period from June 2006 to October 2007.

PCATI also denounced the IOF troops' use of soldiers to terrorize and humiliate Palestinian prisoners.

The IOF command claimed that the army worked by and respected the international laws concerning detention of persons suspected of involvement in "terrorist acts"."

No comments: