Jerusalem - “4” dot com - Muhammad Abu Khudair - The message of the family of the prisoner Ahmed Manasra about the health of their detained son in the occupation prisons, and his exposure to isolation and torture, sparked a new scandal for the so-called (Prisons and Detention Authority) Israeli, and its violations of human rights In those detention centers that do not have the slightest rights for Palestinian detainees and prisoners, according to many international, Arab and even Israeli human rights institutions.
The “Physicians for Human Rights” organization revealed, according to the data of the Israeli Prisons and Detention Authority, that 1,587 prisoners were detained in absolute isolation, and 1,334 in what was called by the Prisons Authority a separation (marital isolation), but it is actually not fundamentally different from ordinary isolation, which are periods of detention. Negatively affect the life, health and psyche of the detainee, especially if he is a juvenile or among the Palestinian children or cubs, such as the prisoner Ahmed Manasra.
The organization said that it submitted a request for access to information under the “Freedom of Information” law and the public’s right to know the truth – it was found that the Prisons and Detention Authority holds thousands of prisoners and detainees, including minors, in isolation rooms for many months and even years.
Anat Litvin, director of the Prisoners' Department at Physicians for Human Rights, said, “In the health system in Israel, there is a consensus about the dangerous impact of isolation, and in recent years its use has been limited to institutions for mental patients, and it is unfortunate that the Prisons Service once again It ignores accepted standards in the health system and makes a law for itself that is shrouded in causing harm to the health of detainees, while the logic behind this behavior is a lofty goal on their part.”
Lernau explained: “Humans are social creatures and they need social interaction in order to maintain psychological stability and general health, and detention in isolation conditions increases the possibility of mental illness spreading and leads to depression and suicide attempts, even in cases where the prisoner is not He has a mental illness background.”
According to her, minors are the most vulnerable in particular to the repercussions of detention in isolation. Therefore, a number of international organizations consider imprisoning them in isolation as inhumane behavior, and even torture.
She indicated that the Public Prosecution opposes any use of this method against minors, and that its scope has greatly decreased with the passage of time, as well as the duration of the isolation period. It causes severe and cumulative psychological damage.”
The Physicians for Human Rights organization expressed their dissatisfaction with the response of the Prisons and Detainees Authority to the request for freedom of information, “although the Prisons Authority wrote that it had examined 101 files of detainees manually in order to respond to the request, but it was unable to Providing information about the number of prisoners held in (individual) isolation, and which of them suffer from psychological problems and who are being followed up psychologically, and accordingly, they belong to one of the dangerous groups whose placement in isolation is prohibited by the United Nations.
According to her, the matter leads to a conclusion that “in the best cases, the Prison Service tries to avoid giving the required information, and in the worst cases, it does not follow up on the prisoners held in isolation rooms at a time when they realize the danger to their health.”
The organization confirmed that the Prisons and Detention Authority in 2021 (until the end of October) was holding 1,578 prisoners in complete isolation rooms, 64 of whom were minors - children - cubs under the legal age, and in the same year (until the end of August) it was holding 1,334 Prisoners, including 57 minors, in conditions of isolation called “solitary isolation” or “marital isolation.” “Isolation” means confinement in a cell for a period not exceeding seven consecutive days.
She said that “isolation is a method used by the Prison Service when there is fear of harming the prisoner’s safety, prison security, or state security, or with the aim of preventing drug crimes.” for words”, since until now the talk is about isolation that has a harmful effect on the health, life and psyche of the Palestinian detainee, especially if he is a minor and under the legal age.
The organization revealed the data that the Prisons and Detention Authority kept the prisoners in isolation, and showed that 63 were isolated for more than two months, 17 of them were imprisoned for more than half a year, 19 for a period ranging from one to 3 years, and 18 for a period of more than 3.
She said that isolating a prisoner is a step that the courts decided can be used, but in a calculated manner, and this is done during the investigation and for its purpose as a major punishment or as part of the isolation procedures.
It held the Israeli government and the Prisons and Detention Authority responsible, explaining that the first decision regarding isolation is taken by the prison commander or the deputy commander of the brigade in the Prisons Authority, and each of them can rule up to half a year in prison, at a time when any other isolation requires Convening a special committee in which there is representation from the Prisons Authority, the police, social services, and the health system. After half a year, the court is required to approve another extension.
She added that the meaning of actual isolation is not only staying in a room individually or with another person, but also complete isolation from other prisoners, in picnics in the yard, meals, and any other activity that takes place inside the prison, and the sections designated for this group are located in areas far from other sections. Isolated, the detainee is only released for one hour, 24 hours a day.
The organization confirmed that, according to the data it obtained from the Prisons and Detention Authority, the year 2021 was not an exceptional year in terms of the size of the isolation, and in 2020, as it becomes clear, it said that 1979 were detained in isolation, where 88 of them were minors, and in separation it was 2015 detainees, including 64 minors, and in 2019 the numbers were slightly lower.