ISRAELI HIGH COURT REJECTS PETITION TO STOP TORTURE DESPITE BRUISES AND CUTS ON TORTURE VICTIM’S BODY
June 1, 1997
The Israeli High Court of Justice rejected a petition submitted by LAW-The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, on behalf of Omar Ghanimat demanding that the court order the Israeli security services (“Shabak”) to stop torturing Ghanimat. Ghanimat, 45 years old was arrested on April 10 from his village Tzurif. He is married and the father of seven childrenGhanimat had been under continuous interrogation for 47 days in the Russian Compound interrogation center in Jerusalem for alleged security violations when LAW ’s attorney first visited him and saw his arms and legs bruised and cut. Ghanimat informed LAW’s attorney that he had been tortured in several ways during the 47 days of interrogation: the interrogators forced him to lie on the ground while handcuffed and jumped on his body, kicked and beat him, dragged his body on the floor while handcuffed, tied him in painful positions so that he could not sit nor stand, forced him to stand in a squatting position for long periods of time, and put him in tight handcuffs which caused his fingers, arms and legs to swell.
In the petition, LAW demanded that Ghanimat be taken from the prison to the court in order to testify about his torture. In an unprecedented move, the High Court agreed and Ghanimat displayed his cuts and wounds to the High Court justices and described his torture. During his testimony LAW’s attorney, Allegra Pacheco also demanded that the Shabak interrogators leave the courtroom since Ghanimat was intimidated by their presence. In a second unprecedented move, the court ordered all the interrogators to leave and at the same time allowed the media and spectators to remain to hear the testimony and to photograph Ghanimat’s bruised arms. Afterwards, the Shabak interrogators testified to the court behind closed doors their version of why Ghanimat was cut and bruised.
In its decision, the court ordered the police to investigate the causes of Ghanimat’s bruises and cuts since there were inconsistencies between Ghanimat’s and the Shabak’s testimonies. The court ordered the police to submit their conclusions within ten days. However, the court decided to reject LAW’s petition since the state attorney notified the court that “at this stage” no more physical pressure was being used against Ghanimat.
LAW’S attorney argued that “physical pressure” was an ambiguous term which the court could not rely upon, and did not include the psychological torture typically utilized by the Shabak including sleep deprivation. She also argued that the state attorney had made no commitment to refrain from torturing Ghanimat in the future and that it was upon the court to enforce the international prohibition against torture and order the Shabak to refrain from any future torture especially in light of Ghanimat’s bruises and cuts. The President of the High Court, Aaron Barak rejected this argument and told LAW’s attorney that she could always come back to the court if the Shabak continues to torture Ghanimat. Pictures of Ghanimat’s bruised arms were printed in both Israeli and Arabic newspapers and caused an embarrassment to the Israeli security services.
LAW strongly protests the High Court’s decision refusing to order the Shabak to stop torturing Ghanimat. LAW believes that this case demonstrates how torture is legalized in Israel and the way principles of justice and human rights are openly compromised by the Israeli High Court of Justice.
LAW-The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organization, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is also an affiliate member of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.