Newsletter - August 2016
Detention update: The IPS has not provided updated detention figures in accordance with a Freedom of Information (FOI) application since April 2016. According to the IPS the delay is due to staffing issues and the absence of a dedicated FOI officer. The IPS advises that it is hopeful that this vacancy will be filled soon.
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Detention figures – According to the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), as of 30 April 2016, there were 6,295 Palestinians held as "security prisoners" in Israeli detention facilities, including 414 children. In the case of children there was a 5 per cent decrease compared with the previous month but an annual increase of 93 per cent compared with 2015. These figures include 13 children held in administrative detention. According to the IPS, 88 per cent of detainees continue to be held in Israel in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. A further 1,586 Palestinians were held in IPS detention as "criminal prisoners" including 14 children.
More statistics
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Comparative graph - issues of concern - As part of MCW's monitoring programme, 13 issues of concern relating to the treatment of children in detention are tracked by reference to recent evidence. Some points to note from the most recent update include: 51% of children report being detained at night; summonses in lieu of night arrests are being used in just 2% of cases; 77% of children report being transferred on the floor of military vehicles; only 12% of children report being informed of their right to silence or were permitted to consult with a lawyer prior to interrogation; and 59% of children report some form of physical abuse.
Comparative Graph
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Restraints and blindfolds - update - Following numerous complaints and legal action concerning pain and injury caused by the use of single plastic hand ties by the Israeli military on detainees, including children, the office of the Military Advocate General announced the introduction of new procedures for the use of restraints in 2010. The nature of the complaints prior to the introduction of the new procedures relating to the use of plastic ties included swelling, ties cutting into wrists and severe pain. Under the new procedures introduced in 2010, hands should be tied from the front.
Read more
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A soldier's video testimony: Escorting detainees to prison - In this video a former soldier provides a testimony to
Breaking the Silence about escorting Palestinian detainees to prison. The female soldier describes how this task took a full day and was not popular resulting in the soldiers taking their frustration out on the prisoners:- "I didn't give them food or water the entire day. If I could tighten their handcuffs then I did and if I could slap them or, you know, hit them on the head or kick or curse them, we'd do that too. That is the way things were done. That's how prisoners are treated. They're bound with cloth, their hands and legs."
Video testimony
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Testimony - On 26 July 2016, a 9-year-old boy (H.N.M.J.) from Zububa was detained by Israeli soldiers near the Wall and accused of throwing stones and cutting the fence. He was released 13 hours later:- "I was playing with some friends near the wall at around 3:00 p.m. when suddenly a group of soldiers came through a gate in the Wall. When we saw the soldiers we started to run but the soldiers caught up with us. I tripped while running and my foot still hurts. As soon as the soldiers captured me they blindfolded me. Then one of the soldiers wanted to know who was throwing stones at the wall and who was trying to cut the wire."
Read more
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