Seven Palestinian Detainees and Ten Human Rights Organizations Submit Petition to Supreme Court Protesting Detention Conditions in Ansar III
Protesting the inhumane conditions faced by approximately 500 Palestinian detainees currently held in Ansar III Detention Center. Arguing that the detention conditions in Ansar III violate the dignity of the detainees, the petitioners asked the Court to intervene and order the military commander of the center to immediately address and improve the conditions in the facility.
Yesterday, seven Palestinian detainees and ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of Israel protesting the inhumane conditions faced by approximately 500 Palestinian detainees currently held in Ansar III Detention Center. Arguing that the detention conditions in Ansar III violate the dignity of the detainees, the petitioners asked the Court to intervene and order the military commander of the center to immediately address and improve the conditions in the facility.
The petition was submitted by Adalah Staff Attorney Morad el-Sana. The ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations named as petitioners are Adalah, Qanun (LAW): The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Law and the Environment, HaMoked: The Center for the Defense of the Individual, B'Tselem, Addameer, Al Haq, Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC), Nadi el-Asseer (Palestinian Prisoners' Club), the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Physicians for Human Right - Israel. The petitioners named Yuni Ben David, Military Commander of Ansar III and Minister of Defense Benjamin Ben-Eliezer as respondents.
Affidavits from detainees obtained during visits by representatives of the human rights organizations indicate that conditions in Ansar III fail to meet minimum adequate standards for detention. Ansar III is situated in the Naqab (Negev) desert, which gets both exceedingly hot during the day and quite cold at night. Detainees are held in tents that are open on all four sides, affording them no protection from the elements, insects, scorpions, or reptiles. The tents are constructed from tarpaulins placed over metal frames, and floors are made of black asphalt. The tarps are old and worn, and many are torn. Detainees are not given proper beds; instead they sleep on wooden beds, constructed of slats, which are 10 to 15 centimeters from the ground. As a result, they are unable to obtain adequate sleep. Further, detainees are not provided with sufficient amount of cold water necessary in the environment. Such conditions are particularly harsh for many detainees who suffer from ill-health such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
Detainees are also denied sufficient supplies and facilities necessary to maintain basic hygiene. They are allotted insufficient soap (6 bars of soap for 60 detainees for 7 days); sponges (1 sponge for 20 detainees); toilet paper (one roll for 10 detainees for 20 days); and toothpaste (1 tube for 10 detainees for 20 days). They are not given any shampoo or other bath items. They are not given any clothes, so they are unable to change clothes from those which they were wearing at the time of their arrest. Of particular concern is the lack of adequate toilet and shower facilities. There is one bathroom, which serves as a toilet and a shower, for every 20 detainees. There are no toilet seats, rather, there are open ditches constructed from concrete. The facility does not have proper water tanks for cleaning, and detainees must use a water tap for this purpose. In addition, they are not given enough cleaning supplies, and therefore are unable to maintain necessary cleanliness of the facilities. Further, some bathrooms do not have any lights, so using them at night is dangerous.
The petitioners argue that the respondents are violating the fundamental human rights of the detainees under both Israeli and international humanitarian law. The Israeli Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (1992) upholds the right of all persons to dignity. Israeli Supreme Court case law clearly extends the right to dignity to those in detention. Notably in Darweesh v. Prison Authority (1980), Justice Haim Cohen stated that those sentenced to prison in Israel have the right "to be imprisoned in humanitarian, civilized conditions." Further, the detention of these individuals, all of whom are from the West Bank, in Israel is a violation of the Geneva Convention (IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949). Article 76 of this convention states that "[p]rotected persons accused of offences shall be detained in the occupied country, and if convicted they shall serve their sentences therein. They shall, if possible, be separated from other detainees and shall enjoy conditions of food and hygiene which will be sufficient to keep them in good health, and which will be at least equal to those obtaining in prisons in the occupied country." The petitioners call on the Israeli authorities to uphold their obligations under Israeli and international law.
H.C. 5591/02, Hilal Yasseen, et. al. v. Yuni Ben David, Military Commander of Ansar III, et. al. (filed 27 June 2002)
(See also Adalah News Update, Adalah Files Pre-Petition in Opposition to Inhumane Treatment of Detainees in Ansar III Detention Center," 2 May 2002)
