Wednesday 11 Nov 2015 - 14:01 Makkah mean time-29-1-1437
Ramallah, (IINA) - Chairman of the Palestinian Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe said on Tuesday that Israel is using physical force and physiological pressure to extract confessions from minor Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails, WAFA reported.
Qaraqe’s statement came a day after a video footage is being circulated online, showing Israeli interrogators shouting at the top of their lungs at 13-year-old Ahmad Manasrah, who allegedly took part in a stabbing attempt against Israelis in Jerusalem last October.
The video showed clips of the interrogation of Manasrah, during which Israeli investigators verbally abused him and called him a liar as they questioned him about the incident and his motives.
Manasrah appeared bursting into tears during interrogation, as he swore that he is telling the truth and that he doesn’t remember anything. It showed him begging the investigator to believe him while crying in despair.
Manasra was then seen crying and agreeing to confess to the accusations brought against him, stating that he is willing to concede to their claims whilst at the same time he affirmed that he would admit even though he does not remember anything.
Qaraqe said the video serves as indisputable evidence that can convict the Israeli government and its investigators for their practices that violate the Geneva Conventions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and relevant international laws.
Qaraqe stressed that the video should also be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an immediate investigation into crimes against minor prisoners.
He said almost 95% of Palestinian children in Israeli jails are forced to confess in order to stop further physiological and physical abuse at the hands of investigators during investigations.
Manasra was also seen in a previous video that went viral, as he laid helplessly on the ground with a head wound while settlers were terrorizing and assaulting him and shouting at him: "Die". This video occurred after Manasra was attacked and run over by Israeli police for allegedly partaking in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem.
Since the beginning of the current unrest on early October, more than 1,000 minor Palestinians were detained by Israeli authorities, Qaraqe said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Tuesday that it had called on all Palestinian embassies and representative offices worldwide to share the video of Manasrah with all decision-making quarters, in order to unveil the Israeli crimes committed against minors.
It is noteworthy that Israel is the only state to systematically prosecute children in military courts that lack basic standards of due process. Addameer human rights group says that most of the detained children report being subjected to ill-treatment and having confessions extracted from them during interrogations.
Forms of abuse used by Israeli soldiers include slapping, beating, kicking, violent pushing, threats, and even sexual assault.
In the same context, a study conducted by Defense for Children International (DCI) in the occupied Palestine territories showed that Palestinian children in Israeli prisons are being subjected to torture, sleep deprivation and are repeatedly blindfolded.
DCI's report said: “In 21.4% of cases, the Israeli military, police and security agents held children in solitary confinement for an average of 10 days for interrogation purposes”.
In 96% of cases documented by DCI-Palestine in 2013, children were questioned alone and rarely informed of their rights, particularly their right against self-incrimination.
DCI stated, “The interrogation techniques are generally mentally and physically coercive, frequently incorporating a mix of intimidation, threats and physical violence with a clear purpose of obtaining a confession. More than one in five of the 2013 cases, children signed statements in Hebrew, a language they do not understand”.
The reported added: “Military detention is a reality for hundreds of Palestinian children each year, exposing them to physical and psychological violence, interrupting education, contributing to mental health issues, and placing large numbers of families under stress. This continued to be the case in 2014”.
AG/IINA
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
No comments:
Post a Comment