RAMALLAH, December 4, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israeli military court of Ofer prison admitted the usage of brutal interrogation methods against Palestinians detained at Israeli prisons, Sunday said a report issued by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club (PPC).

The report said the court dropped the charges against Ayman Hmeedeh, 23, who was arrested on charges of carrying out military operations against Israel, due to the illegality of interrogation techniques used by Israeli intelligence for two months during the interrogation at Asqalan Israeli prison.

The court had presented a list of accusations against Hmeedeh, a resident from Ezariyyeh, an east Jerusalem town, which consisted of 17 charges including the possession of weapons, conducting secret military operations, shooting and attempted murder.

PPC lawyer Tariq Barghouthi, who represented Hmeedeh at court, refuted all charges against him, accusing the Israeli military of extracting confessions from Hmeedeh through physical and mental torture.

The PPC lawyer proved the use of brutal interrogation methods during the witnesses hearing with the Israeli general security service (Shabak) and with police investigators. The court accepted their explanations and revoked all confessions exerted under torture.

The lawyer said Hmeedeh was subjected to various forms of torture, deprivation and pressures during his interrogation including: preventing him from taking his medication, as he suffers from a nerve disorder, tying his hands and feet to a chair chained to the floor for four consecutive days, threatening him to prolong his interrogation and to extend his administrative detention indefinitely.

He was also threatened with interrogation of his family members, as a means of pressuring him to confess to charges against him, where his brother was brought in for interrogation. Hmeedeh was insulted and verbally abused, prevented from lawyer visits for 40 days, and threatened with the spreading of a bad reputation about him among prisoners so they can torture and kill him.

The lawyer considered the court decision one of a kind, particularly at military courts, and a clear admission to the use of torture and illegal measures while interrogating Palestinian prisoners.

T.R./F.J.