RAMALLAH, July 13, 2015 (WAFA)
– Two Palestinian women, who were arrested by Israeli forces, testified about
being subjected to ill-treatment by Israeli forces during their detention and interrogation.
A Palestinian woman who was
recently arrested by the Israeli military in the West Bank said she was subjected
to physical and verbal abuse by army officers and prison authorities during her
interrogation.
The woman, Sabrin Abu Sharar
from Hebron, told an attorney with the Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs, who was
allowed to visit her, that she was subjected to maltreatment during the 15 long
hours of investigation, including verbal abuse, and strip searches.
Abu Sharar was also threatened with the
imposition of sanctions against her, including travel ban and the usage of strappado
torture; where a person gets hung for
hours from the wrists.
Abu Sharar was placed in a foul-smelling
cell, about one meter wide by two meters long, that lacked the basic
humanitarian requirements, including sufficient ventilation, a clean mattress,
and adequate hygiene and sanitation conditions.
Meanwhile, female prisoner
Sherine al-Issawi from Jerusalem told the committee’s attorney, Hanan
al-Khateeb, that she has embarked on a five-day hunger strike to protest her
solitary confinement.
Al-Issawi was placed in
solitary confinement for two months in retaliation for an incident that took
place between the prison inmates and prison guards.
Al-Issawi said that she was subjected
to harsh imprisonment conditions during her solitary confinement at Ramla
prison; she was placed in a cell that lacked basic health standards, and was
forced to sleep on the floor.
Furthermore, the cell’s door was sealed with plastic which
prevented proper ventilation, causing her to faint due to lack of oxygen. she
was also hand and leg tied during her daily breaks.
Violations against female
prisoners in Israeli jails include brutal manner of their arrest in front of
their families and young children; physical and mental interrogation methods;
medical negligence towards pregnant prisoners; physical restraints during
childbirth; punishments during imprisonment, such as isolation and force; detention
in inappropriate places; provocative searches by prison officers; insults,
assaults and the use of tear gas.
According to the Palestinian
Prisoners Centre for Studies (PPCS), the Israeli forces have arrested 78
Palestinian women in the first quarter of 2015, including several minors.
It said that the year 2015 has
seen a clear escalation in the detention of Palestinian women, including
minors. 'Most of [the women] were arrested inside the Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa
Mosque,' the NGO said.
Head of PPCS, Riyad al-Ashqar, noted
that the suffering of female prisoners in Israeli jails has increased during
the past few months, especially the increase of night raids that are
notoriously carried out by male Israeli soldiers without pre-warning, reported
the Middle East Monitor on its website.
M.N./T.R.
