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Shin Bet Torture ‘Investigator’ Moved to Israeli Justice Department

By Saed Bannoura – IMEMC News – November 18, 2010

The Israeli secret service, or Shin Bet, has always depended on ‘internal investigations’ to respond to allegations of torture and mistreatment. Now, the Shin Bet officer in charge of complaints will be moved under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department.

Israeli activists demonstrate Shin Bet torture technique (photo by 'Abolish Torture')
Israeli activists demonstrate Shin Bet torture technique (photo by ‘Abolish Torture’)

The ‘internal investigations’ have, in 100% of cases, resulted in a dismissal of complaints, often with a single sentence reply to the complainant: “There is no basis for the complaints in your letter.” The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel recently released a report showing that every single one of the 650 complaints brought to the Israeli government’s legal advisors were dismissed out of hand.

After the report’s release, Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein announced that he will move the employee who deals with complaints from within the Shin Bet to the Justice Department for “the sake of appearances”.

According to the Attorney General’s office, it is unlikely that the shift in jurisdiction will result in any actual change in how ‘investigations’ of complaints are conducted.

The Shin Bet has a reputation among Israeli military branches for harsh interrogation and torture of prisoners. Palestinians who have been abducted by the Shin Bet report horrific techniques used by the Shin Bet officers during interrogations, and officers within the organization have publicly admitted their use of certain techniques including the so-called ‘Palestinian hanging’, in which prisoners are hung by their handcuffed hands from a wall.

Despite the violations of international law and human rights conventions, Shin Bet officers continue to authorize the use of torture against Palestinian prisoners, including children, on a regular basis.

November 19, 2010 - Posted by | Civil Liberties, Subjugation - Torture

1 Comment »

  1. Shin Bet must be still using old obsolete and outlawed torture manuals of the once feared German Gestapo in order to apply the same cruel and painful methods on a defenseless Arab population like the Nazis did when they were on the loose? Perhaps slightly upgrated the instructions to bring more lasting pain to their victims?

    Like

    B.Benhamid's avatar Comment by B.Benhamid | November 19, 2010 | Reply


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