Torture in Israel

Faked Arrests

One of Israel%u2019s manipulative procedures is to fake arresting a family member so as to pressure the prisoner to confess or cooperate. Women mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters are used in such devious schemes to exert more mental and psychological pressure on them. One of the prisoner%u2019s mothers said she was once handcuffed before meeting her son to give him that impression that she was going through hardships because of him. Another prisoner named Mahmoud Alswaiti was detained in the West Bank city of Hebron because he was suspected of joining an armed group. Alswaiti was told that his wife and his father had been arrested, to put him under strain, and to make their story believable, the Israeli guards forced his wife and father to walk near his widow where he could see them surround by heavily armed guards. And to make their story even more believable, they forced his father to wear a shirt similar to those worn by prisoners.

Repeating such actions forced Alswaiti to try to commit suicide, the committee wrote upon evidence of one of the interrogators that Alswaiti tried to strangle himself using his own shirt, and he kept banging his head in the wall and the table, because he felt he had no power to help his wife or his elderly father, who are supposed to experience humiliation because of him.

What one Palestinian mother can hope for

Usually mothers have hopes and dreams as all mothers do, like witnessing a child%u2019s graduation or marriage. But Palestinian mother s%u2019 dreams are wild%u2026 different %u2026 extravagant.

One of those dreamers is a mother from the town of Qufor Qleel south of the city of Nablus.

Ribheeyeh Alquni is 59 years old and her dream is to have her 5 imprisoned sons all in one prison so that she can visit them all at once.

Ribheeyeh suffers heart problems and diabetes; hence she can%u2019t go to visit more than once a week. That%u2019s why she only visits one son at a time, cancelling visiting the remaining four.

Her children are Mazin, 30, arrested by the Israeli occupation forces five years ago. He is in prison even though he has a disability in his legs, and he is still not charged. He is detained in Megiddo prison.

His brother Samir is 29, sentenced 40 years and ten days, he was arrested 6 years ago and suffers from kidney problems. Samir is detained at Rimon prison.

Buraq, 23, was imprisoned initially for 3 years then released, then arrested again 17 months ago; the Israeli investigators are demanding his imprisonment for 7 years. He is detained at the moment at Megiddo prison.

Hazim is 27 and he has been serving a life sentence at Jalbooa prison since 6 years ago. Mohammad his younger brother aged 20, was detained about a year and a half ago but still has not been convicted.

Their mother is in pain for she is not able to enjoy her children%u2019s presence in one place not even if it was in a prison. She smiled while crying and said that her children Mohammad and his brother Hazim met once in one room at Jalbooa prison, but could not identify each other, because when Hazim was detained Mohammed was very little, besides Mohammed had a swollen face because of severe torture which made him look different anyway.

The mother is hoping to meet her children all at once, she said she has not set eyes on three of her sons since they were imprisoned, Mohammad, Buraq, and Mazin.

She prays that they will be put together in the same prison; at least she can see them for once. %u201CMy home now is empty,%u201D she said.

References:

Arab Media Internet Network / Amin

Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners

Director of Bureau of Statistics Awni Farawana

Public Committee against Torture in Israel

Reporter Ahmad Budairy BBC- Jerusalem

Arab Media Internet Network / Amin

Faked Arrests

One of Israel%u2019s manipulative procedures is to fake arresting a family member so as to pressure the prisoner to confess or cooperate. Women mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters are used in such devious schemes to exert more mental and psychological pressure on them. One of the prisoner%u2019s mothers said she was once handcuffed before meeting her son to give him that impression that she was going through hardships because of him. Another prisoner named Mahmoud Alswaiti was detained in the West Bank city of Hebron because he was suspected of joining an armed group. Alswaiti was told that his wife and his father had been arrested, to put him under strain, and to make their story believable, the Israeli guards forced his wife and father to walk near his widow where he could see them surround by heavily armed guards. And to make their story even more believable, they forced his father to wear a shirt similar to those worn by prisoners.

Repeating such actions forced Alswaiti to try to commit suicide, the committee wrote upon evidence of one of the interrogators that Alswaiti tried to strangle himself using his own shirt, and he kept banging his head in the wall and the table, because he felt he had no power to help his wife or his elderly father, who are supposed to experience humiliation because of him.

What one Palestinian mother can hope for

Usually mothers have hopes and dreams as all mothers do, like witnessing a child%u2019s graduation or marriage. But Palestinian mother s%u2019 dreams are wild%u2026 different %u2026 extravagant.

One of those dreamers is a mother from the town of Qufor Qleel south of the city of Nablus.

Ribheeyeh Alquni is 59 years old and her dream is to have her 5 imprisoned sons all in one prison so that she can visit them all at once.

Ribheeyeh suffers heart problems and diabetes; hence she can%u2019t go to visit more than once a week. That%u2019s why she only visits one son at a time, cancelling visiting the remaining four.

Her children are Mazin, 30, arrested by the Israeli occupation forces five years ago. He is in prison even though he has a disability in his legs, and he is still not charged. He is detained in Megiddo prison.

His brother Samir is 29, sentenced 40 years and ten days, he was arrested 6 years ago and suffers from kidney problems. Samir is detained at Rimon prison.

Buraq, 23, was imprisoned initially for 3 years then released, then arrested again 17 months ago; the Israeli investigators are demanding his imprisonment for 7 years. He is detained at the moment at Megiddo prison.

Hazim is 27 and he has been serving a life sentence at Jalbooa prison since 6 years ago. Mohammad his younger brother aged 20, was detained about a year and a half ago but still has not been convicted.

Their mother is in pain for she is not able to enjoy her children%u2019s presence in one place not even if it was in a prison. She smiled while crying and said that her children Mohammad and his brother Hazim met once in one room at Jalbooa prison, but could not identify each other, because when Hazim was detained Mohammed was very little, besides Mohammed had a swollen face because of severe torture which made him look different anyway.

The mother is hoping to meet her children all at once, she said she has not set eyes on three of her sons since they were imprisoned, Mohammad, Buraq, and Mazin.

She prays that they will be put together in the same prison; at least she can see them for once. %u201CMy home now is empty,%u201D she said.

References:

Arab Media Internet Network / Amin

Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners

Director of Bureau of Statistics Awni Farawana

Public Committee against Torture in Israel

Reporter Ahmad Budairy BBC- Jerusalem

Arab Media Internet Network / Amin