PCHR’s preliminary investigations indicate that on 21 August 2007, members of the Preventive Security Apparatus assaulted the family of Ahmad Taher Ahmad Mohsin (92) during the operation to arrest his son Mohammad Ali (30) from the family house in El-Naqoura village northwest of Nablus. The security officers beat several family members and relatives who tried to prevent the arrest. They fired heavily inside the house before succeeding in detaining Mohammad Ali. The detainee’s family stated that 4 persons, 2 of them masked, came to the house and identified themselves as members of the Preventive Security. They asked the detainee’s mother about her son. The father, who is 92 years old, opened the door. They pushed him violently and entered the house, and started searching inside it. They searched the ground floor. When the mother and relatives attempted to stop them, they fired heavily inside rooms and beat several women. They continue to fire inside the house, terrorized the residents, destroyed furniture, and succeeded in detaining Mohammad Ali. PCHR’s fieldworker stated that bullet holes were at the height of 1 or 2 meters; and the firing caused serious threat to the lives of the household.
Mohammad Ahmad Taher Mohsin (22) gave the following statement to PCHR’s fieldworker,
“Two persons pushed my father and hit him with their hands on the face. They noticed a closed room on the ground floor and asked me to open it. I searched for the key but did not find it. I told them that the key was not found. They fired at the lock and destroyed the door.
They entered the room and found my brother Mohammad inside. They brought a stick and hit my brother on the back. My father and I tried to pull them away from him; and they fired inside the house. My mother, uncle’s wife, and female cousin rushed to keep them away from Mohammad; but they beat them and fired inside the house a second time. A masked gunman rushed inside firing his gun. My female cousin fainted. My brother was dragged away by force.”
On Thursday, 23 August 2007, Omar Mahmoud Omar Ahmad (31) from the village of Far’oun south of Tulkarm was tortured by Preventive Security officers over his relationship with Hamas. He stated that he was subjected to various forms of torture immediately upon arriving before his interrogators to answer a summoning order delivered a day earlier. He stated that his health deteriorated; and that he was transferred to Tulkarm Hospital despite his wish to be transferred to the Zakat Hospital. Omar Ahmad gave the following statement to PCHR’s fieldworker,
“I was placed in a very small cell of 2 square meters. There was a mattress inside the cell; but the guard took it away when I entered. After an hour, I was taken for interrogation. I was questioned about my membership in Hamas. I told the interrogator that I support the movement, but not a member. The interrogator said, ‘I will tear the shoe beating your head,’ and threatened to send me to Jericho. They took me back to the cell and put a mask over my head. They tied my hands behind my back. The guard forced me to stand face to the wall inside my cell and cursed me. I told him about my health condition, but he did not do anything and continued to curse me. I tried to lean on the wall; but the guard entered the cell immediately and forced me to stand in the middle of the cell. On Thursday, they subjected me to 4 interrogation rounds over my membership in Hamas. In the last one, the interrogator ordered the guard to force me to stand from 21:00 till 6:00 the following day. During this time, I called on the guard to let me sleep or rest; but he refused.”
On Tuesday, 28 August 2007, members of the Preventive Security Apparatus assaulted the family of Fawwaz Hisham Hussein El-Tarada (22) in the town of Taffouh west of Hebron during his arrest. In addition, El-Tarada was tortured during interrogation over his ties with Hamas and its Executive Force. Fawwaz’s brother Fayez (24) gave the following statement to PCHR’s fieldworker,
“One of the security officers grabbed me by my clothes and dragged me outside and beat me. When Fawwaz was saying goodbye to my mother, security officers beat me with their feet and gun butts. They pushed me and dragged me on the ground alleging that I was hindering them. When my mother intervened to protect me from the beating, they continued to beat me despite my mother’s embrace. She suffered bruises and a cut in her face. I suffered bruises in the shoulder and back and some cuts in the hands and legs.”
Fawwaz El-Tarada gave the following statement to PCHR’s fieldworker,
“I arrived in a building that I learned later was the headquarters of the Preventive Security in Hebron. A masked man took me to an underground cell of 2 square meters. I was subjected to several interrogation rounds over my links with Hamas and the Executive Force. I was beaten and tortured by 2 masked members of the Preventive Security. I was beaten on the hands and legs inside my cell before and after every interrogation round. In one instance, one of them forcefully pushed the end of a stick at my abdomen to extract a confession and cooperate with the interrogator. I heard screaming in the nearby cells.”
PCHR reiterates its condemnation of these attacks, and:
· Renews its strong condemnation of the use of torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment; and calls for investigating these crimes, prosecuting the perpetrators, and taking effective action to ensure they do not recur.
· Reminds that torture is outlawed by Palestinian Law, and does not fall by seniority; and that torture is a serious violation of human rights and international human rights standards, including the UN Convention against Torture.
· Affirms that arrests are regulated by Palestinian Law and are the authority of law-enforcement parties, represented by the civilian police under orders and supervision of the Attorney-General.
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