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PA Has Been Torturing Prisoners for Years, UK Group Says

(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - The Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank have been using torture on a widespread and systematic basis for several years, according to a report by the Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain. At least six Palestinians have died under torture in PA prisons and many former detainees have permanent physical disabilities, the report found. From October 2007 to October 2010, PA security forces in the West Bank detained 8,640 Palestinians at a rate of eight arrests per day. "Every one of those detainees has been subject to humiliating and degrading treatment and stayed in cells for more than 10 days," the report said. "The analysis shows that an astonishing 95% of the detainees were subjected to severe torture, others feeling the detrimental effects on their health for varying periods." "In order to put pressure on detainees, close relatives, even minors, are brought to the interrogation center, where they may be tortured in front of the detainee in order to try to force a confession of guilt," the report said. The Preventive Security Service has 17 detention centers, the General Intelligence Service also has 17, while the Military Intelligence Service has 11. The detention centers "run by the security services are not subject to any judicial control."
2011-01-24 08:50:31
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