Shin Bet tortures detainees & denies access to lawyers

28-12-2010,10:02

 

Al Qassam website - As many as 90 percent of Palestinian detainees being interrogated by the "Shin Bet" security service are prevented from consulting with an attorney, even though civilian and military legislation state clearly that such prohibition should be rarely applied, according to a report published by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society.

Among the Zionist interrogation methods are tying detainees for a long time to a chair with their hands behind the back, sleep deprivation, threats (usually of harming family members), humiliation and being kept for long periods in unsanitary cells.

The "Shin Bet" has refused in the past to provide data on the numbers of Palestinian detainees who are prevented from meeting with a lawyer.

In the absence of official data, The Public Campaign and the Prisoners Society carried out research and cross-referenced their information with different sources in order to estimate the numbers of prisoners who are prevented from meeting with lawyers.

According to estimates, 11,970 Palestinians the Shin Bet interrogated between 2000 and 2007, the numbers of those whose right to an attorney was blocked ranged between 8,379 to 10,773.

Report: 90% of Shin Bet Detainees Prevented from Seeing Lawyer

28.12.10 - 16:14

Jerusalem – PNN - According to study by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), up to 90% of Palestinian prisoners interrogated by the Israeli Shin Bet security team are not allowed to consult with their lawyers, a right guaranteed by international agreements. Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail (PNN Archive).  The Shin Bet claims it can refuse legal consultation to some prisoners in rare cases, but the high rate of refusal may point to different concerns, according to the study’s author, Dr. Maya Rosenfeld. The PCATI study points to widespread use of illegal interrogation methods such as sleep deprivation, threats of violence, solitary confinement in unsanitary conditions, and tying prisoners to chairs with their hands behind their backs. The Shin Bet will not provide data of its own. Of the 11,970 detained Palestinians who have been interrogated by the Shin Bet, between 8,379 (70%) and 10,773 (90%) are refused the right to legal counsel, according to the PCATI study. The results of prolonged interrogation and imprisonment without legal counsel include false confessions as well as physical and psychological abuse and other human rights violations.