Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: UK raises concerns over Israel's treatment of Palestinian children [View all]Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Children Behind Bars: Issue 32
Report on the Medical Treatment of Palestinian Child Prisoners in Israeli Detention Facilities
Case Study
16 year old Sameh Safwan of Askar Refugee Camp in Nablus was interviewed on 7 March 2007 by a DCI lawyer at Hasharon Prison. He had been arrested by the Israeli Army and transferred to Huwwara Detention Centre in Nablus where he was detained for two days. Then he was transferred to Petah Tikva Interrogation Centre. He reported that he was beaten during his interrogation there. He reported suffering from hearing problems in his left ear after he was interrogated. When he reported hearing loss to the prison medical officer at Hasharon Prison, where he was eventually transferred to await being charged and put on trial, he was prescribed Paracetamol and did not receive any further treatment or medical attention thereafter.
Introduction
At the end of October 2007, there were approximately 319 Palestinian children from the Occupied Palestinian Territories in Israeli custody. These children were either under arrest and being held for interrogation purposes; had been charged with offences under Israeli military law and were awaiting trial or sentence; or were serving terms of imprisonment inside Israeli prisons.
Palestinian children in the West Bank are arrested by the Israeli army or the Israeli police, both of which collectively comprise the Israeli occupying forces in the West Bank. The children are then detained in any one of the numerous prisons and detention and interrogation centres administered by the State of Israel. The majority of these facilities are located inside Israeli territory. The rest are located in the occupied West Bank.
Lawyers employed by Defence for Children International, Palestine Section regularly visit Palestinian children held in Israeli custody. During a visit to the Etzion Detention and Interrogation Centre near Bethlehem on 9 July 2007, a DCI Lawyer noted as follows:-
Children sleep on thin mattresses on the floor.
There is no electricity in the cells.
The sun does not appear to penetrate the cells which are constantly dark. There are very small windows in the rooms.
Rooms are opened three times a day for one hour at a time.
During the course of these visits, children have provided statements about their experiences of incarceration from arrest to final imprisonment. An ongoing and repeated feature of their experience is the lack of medical attention and treatment for a pre existing health condition or injury, or a condition or injury sustained during or after the interrogation process.
During a visit to Ofer Military Prison near Ramallah on 12 June 2007, a DCI lawyer spoke to a child prisoner who described the medical situation as follows:-
The Prison administration doesn't deal with medical issues in a humane way. They don't provide us with anything apart from painkillers. Everything is according to a registration process. You have to register with a doctor and the administration doesn't deal immediately with critical cases. There is delay before any such case is sent to hospital. There is no psychiatrist in this prison.
Case Study
17 year old Mu'ad Suddah of Qaffin Village in Tulkarem, was interviewed on 5 September 2007 at Salem Detention and Interrogation Centre, located in Israel near Jenin. On 3 July 2007 he had undergone surgery to his skull due to a head injury as a result of being previously beaten by Israeli soldiers. He was arrested on 22 August 2007 at 3am at his family home. He reported that the soldiers beat him over his head during the arrest, despite asking them not to beat him around his head because of recent surgery.
After he was beaten, he was handcuffed and blindfolded. He was transferred to an area of a dismantled Israeli settlement (previously known as Hermash settlement) where he was thrown on the ground while he was handcuffed and blindfolded. He was beaten and kicked repeatedly around various parts of his body.
He was then exposed to strange and loud sounds over two hours and afterwards he was transferred to a military base, where he was also beaten.
One of the soldiers, raised him from the ground and put Muad's head between his legs, pressing his knees together placing extreme pressure around Muad's head.
Muad suffers ongoing headaches and pain as a result of the physical violence he sustained during his arrest. His DCI lawyer has lodged an urgent request with the Israeli Prison Service seeking that he be examined and treated immediately.
International Law
Detained persons have certain unalienable rights under international law. The situation of Palestinian children from the occupied Palestinian territories who are arrested and detained by Israeli occupying forces is governed by international human rights law, international humanitarian law, customary international law and the many United Nations rules, guidelines and standards relevant to the treatment of prisoners and detained persons.
Israel argues that international human rights law such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the 1984 Convention Against Torture and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and international humanitarian law; namely the 1907 Hague Convention and the 1949 Geneva Conventions, do not apply to its occupation of the Palestinian territories. Furthermore, guidelines, standards and rules set by various United Nations bodies are not legally binding on States.
However, these arguments and interpretations have been rejected by international law experts, lawyers, academics and human rights organisations who argue that any detained person is to be afforded proper and humane treatment in every respect. Most of the principals of the protection of detained persons codified under international law are customary law and therefore are binding on all States. Furthermore, Palestinian children held in prisons within the borders of Israel should be afforded the same proper and humane treatment that is received by children who are citizens of Israel.
In this regard, Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949, relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War provides that persons detained in the occupied country
.. shall enjoy conditions of food and hygiene which will be sufficient to keep them in good health, and which will be at least equal to those obtained in prisons in the occupied country and shall receive the medical attention required by their state of health. Article 76 also provides that proper regard shall be paid to the special treatment due to minors .
Article 24 of the United Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (ratified by all UN member States including Israel, except for two) provides that State Parties are to ensure that all children have the right to the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health, without discrimination.
There are other references within international instruments that define the rights of all detained children to medical treatment, health care and sanitation, without discrimination. Article 10 of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rig hts 1966 specifically provides that all persons deprived of their liberty should be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person .
The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Protection of Prisoners approved by a United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment in 1957 sets down minimum international standards for providing medical services, accommodation, food and personal hygiene to detained persons . Article 22 provides that in every detention type institution there shall be available the services of at least one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of psychiatry and sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals . Articles 25 and 26 directly place responsibility on medical officers appointed by prison administrations to report a prisoner's physical or mental health where it may be affected by continued imprisonment or by any condition of imprisonment, and to regularly inspect and report on food ; t he hygiene and cleanliness of the institution and the prisoners; t he sanitation, heating, lighting and ventilation of the institution; and the suitability and cleanliness of the prisoners' clothing and bedding .
In 1985, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, the Beijing Rules, were adopted for the protection of young offenders in detention. Article 26 (2) provides that juveniles in institutions shall receive care, protection and all necessary assistance-social, educational, vocational, psychological, medical and physical-that they may require because of their age, sex, and personality and in the interest of their wholesome development.
Article 49 of the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty provides that every juvenile shall receive adequate medical care, both preventive and remedial
All such medical care should, where possible, be provided to detained juveniles through the appropriate health facilities and services of the community in which the detention facility is located
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Detention Facilities
Israeli Army and Police
Case Study
16 year old Mojahed Sayyes of Jenin was interviewed at Salem Detention and Interrogation Centre on 13 th September 2007.
He was arrested on 12 August 2007 at 4am at home. On 30 August 2007, he was given a four month administrative detention order. He reported that he started to suffer from dizziness and seizures but despite reporting it to the detention centre medical officers, he has not been prescribed or offered any medication or treatment. He reported that he has asked for treatment several times but he was informed that they could not offer him anything except Paracetamol.
The Israeli military forces administer the numerous detention centres in the West Bank and in Israel, used by Israeli occupying forces to interrogate Palestinian child prisoners.
The majority of children interviewed by DCI lawyers in 2007 reported that prior to their interrogation, they underwent a medical examination, and were photographed during the examination. However, all of those who reported a pre existing medical condition, or an injury or pain sustained during their arrest were not provided any specific medical attention or treatment. In practice, these initial medical examinations at the interrogation centres are superficial and conducted as a matter of course in order to officially satisfy the requirement that a detainee be immediately examined under all of the international instruments mentioned above.
Case Study
17 year old Sabe' Titiy is from Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus. He was arrested on 10 May 2007.
He spoke to a DCI lawyer while in an interrogation centre and reported that he was exposed to very loud noises during his interrogation over an extended period and that his ears began to bleed. He was examined by a doctor following this who made a recommendation that Sabe' be transferred to another cell.
Israeli Prison Service
Case Study
16 year old Ala'a Hammad of Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus was arrested on 16 May 2007 at around 3am at his family home. He suffers from a stomach ulcer, a condition existing prior his arrest, and was examined by medical officers at three Israeli detention facilities during his incarceration. He was examined at both Huwarra and Salem Detention and Interrogation Centres and then at Hasharon prison where he was finally given medicine. He is not certain what medicine he has been given, but reports that it has not helped relieve the pain from his stomach ulcer and that he has not received any further treatment.
Palestinian children who are serving sentences of imprisonment or awaiting trial are held in prisons administered by the Israeli Prison Service. Palestinian children are held mainly in Hasharon and Damoun Prisons in the north of Israel.
Once inside prison and in the custody of the Israeli Prison Service, children who complain of an existing medical condition, or pain or injury sustained as a result of torture or ill treatment during the interrogation process, are prescribed Paracetamol, but are not referred for further specialist treatment or examination.
DCI lawyers report that hospital and specialist treatment is provided to children who are in emergency situations and children with symptoms of a possible serious illness are not treated until such illness has reached a critical stage.
Case Study
Khaled Hassan Khalaf was interviewed at Hasharon Prison on 7 March 2007. He was arrested on 17 August 2006. He was transferred to Ma'ale Adumim detention and interrogation centre and reported that he was examined by a doctor and photographed on his arrival. He was examined again after being transferred to Etzion detention and interrogation centre.
As a result of beatings during his interrogation, Khaled suffers from a problem with his jaw. He reports that despite the two examinations, his jaw was not treated. While in prison, he has been prescribed Paracetamol from the pain he suffers in his jaw.
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/display.cfm?DocId=633&CategoryId=10