Rights groups condemn Israel's refusal to close top secret prison

[ 22/01/2011 - 08:01 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)-- Rights groups are condemning an Israeli Supreme Court decision refusing to shut down Israel's most top secret investigation center. Those organizations are the Mandela prisoner care foundation, the Palestinian Prisoner Committee in the West Bank, the Prisoner Friend Society, and Nazareth Prisoner Affairs Follow-up Committee and the Siddiq Yousef prisoner care foundation in Umm Al-Fahm. Two petitions were filed against the 1391 detention center, which resides on a secret military base and is directly affiliated with the Israeli intelligence. According to the prisoner rights groups, Israel has refused to admit the center exists. It is not subject to regulations by the Red Cross or other global organizations. The Israeli daily Haaretz first shed light on the center in 2003 after the Israeli army took several Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners without anyone knowing about their existence or the existence of the center. Haaretz quoted petitioners as saying the court agreed to place restrictions on the period of detention allowed in the center, provide specific information on its location to the detainees themselves, and to use it exclusively on orders of senior leadership.