JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli security forces' shackling of Palestinian prisoners is frequently cruel and humiliating and in a number of instances constitutes "torture," a rights group said Wednesday.
The army and the internal security forces "shackle detainees in painful and humiliating manners that, in a number of instances, rise to the level of torture," the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) said.
The group published its findings in a report based on 547 cases of arrests and dozens of interrogations conducted over the past year.
"Painful shackling is done for invalid and irrelevant reasons, which include causing pain and suffering, punishment, intimidation and illegally eliciting information and confessions," the group said.
...The group said detainees are often shackled in painful positions for hours or days at a time, even when they are being held in highly secure facilities and are not being interrogated.
"Painful shackling is designed to break the interogee's spirit and to illegally extract a confession or information from him, in violation of Israel's obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture." Full story
Full PCATI reportJerusalem Post
UPI
Ha'aretz
No report yet by the Associated Press - We just phoned AP asking why they are not covering this (7:45 am pacific time)
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