des ex-détenus racontent les traitements inhumains subis dans les prisons de l’occupation sionistes
GENEVA – Former Palestinian prisoners spoke out about the inhumane treatment and violence they experienced in Israeli prisons and from settlers, during a session with UN experts in Geneva, as reported by media outlets on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Palestinians provided testimony before the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry (COI) concerning conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories, a body established by the Human Rights Council. They shared harrowing accounts of systemic violence perpetrated by Israeli forces, which has been described as “a generalized policy” by Palestinian lawyer Sahar Francis.
Said Abdel Fattah, a 28-year-old nurse arrested in November 2023 near the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza where he was employed, revealed the brutal treatment he endured. “I was humiliated and tortured,” he recounted, comparing himself to “a punching bag.” He detailed his interrogation, during which he was repeatedly struck, leaving him bleeding and feeling as if “my soul was leaving my body.”
Another individual, Mohamed Matar, a resident of the West Bank, recounted his experience of torture at the hands of internal security agents and Israeli settlers. After enduring twelve hours of violence, he pleaded, “Shoot me in the head!” Reflecting on the inhumanity he witnessed, Matar remarked, “I didn’t think there were people on Earth with such ugliness, sadism, and cruelty.”
The Commission for the Affairs of Palestinian Prisoners and Former Prisoners further warned against the mistreatment and inhumane conditions faced by Palestinian detainees in Megiddo prison. Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, recently stated that the Israeli occupation has subjected Palestinian detainees to all forms of inhuman and degrading treatment.
In a report presented alongside the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Edwards asserted that the Israeli administration has inflicted severe inhuman and degrading treatment on Palestinian detainees, especially those arrested since October 7, 2023.
These testimonies and reports shed light on the ongoing and alarming human rights violations against Palestinians, as they grapple with violence and mistreatment within the prison system, a situation that demands urgent and sustained international attention. The ongoing conflict and associated human rights abuses remain a prominent concern for the international community, calling for systemic changes to address these injustices and uphold the rights and dignity of all individuals involved.
