GAZA, (PIC)
The freed prisoner, Walid Anwar Al-Khalili from the Gaza Strip, has conveyed a horrifying testimony about the ordeal prisoners face in the Sde Teiman detention center, where prisoners from the Gaza Strip are held.
Al-Khalili, who was recently released from Sde Teiman detention center, told Al-Arabi TV that prisoners there scream hysterically from the severe torture they endure, confirming that several have died under the brutal torture.
Al-Khalili revealed that three prisoners in Sde Teiman were martyred while hanging from their legs, noting that prisoners are hung by their legs for long hours during interrogation.
He further stated that Israeli soldiers killed injured detainees who were with him, adding, “More than 20 Israeli soldiers took turns beating me when I was arrested.”
Al-Khalili continued, “Israeli soldiers told me and the other prisoners that our fate is death in the Sde Teiman detention center.”
Horrifying testimonies from inside the prisons
The Palestinian Prisoners Society and the Commission of Detainees presented testimonies from Palestinian prisoners who were subjected to systematic torture inside Israeli occupation prisons.
Prisoner institutions said in a press release on the eve of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture that the most notable testimonies included that of the detained journalist Mohammed Arab in Sde Teiman camp, whom a lawyer managed to visit recently.
Arab said that the administration of Sde Teiman keeps detainees shackled 24 hours a day and blindfolded. He has not changed his clothes for more than fifty days, and was only allowed to change his pants before the visit while keeping the same jacket on for fifty days.
Prisoner institutions highlighted that detainees are subjected to various forms of torture, abuse, and sexual assaults, including rapes that have resulted in the death of some prisoners.
The beatings, abuse, humiliation, and insults are continuous, and no detainee is allowed to speak to another. Anyone who speaks is severely beaten, leading prisoners to talk to themselves and pray secretly, as they are deprived of prayer and practicing any religious rituals.
Prisoners are surrounded by police dogs at all times, and only four detainees are allowed to use the restroom for one minute. Anyone who exceeds this time is “punished”. The prisoners are forced to sleep on the ground and use their shoes as pillows.
Regarding bathing, prisoner testimonies revealed that they are allowed to bathe once a week for one minute, daytime sleep is prohibited, and food consists of small portions of labneh (strained yogurt) and a piece of cucumber or tomato, which is the only meal they receive. Many sick and injured prisoners have had their limbs amputated, and bullets removed from their bodies without anesthesia.
In the Etzion detention center, another site of torture and humiliation crimes, one ill prisoner fainted several times. When prisoners called for help, soldiers stormed the rooms, beat them, threw their blankets outside, and forced them to undress and remain in the severe cold as punishment. The prison administration’s response was, “Let him die.”
Among the detainee testimonies about the moment of arrest, one detainee (T.H) said, “A force of the occupation army raided my family’s house at midnight, slapped me, handcuffed me from behind, blindfolded me, and forced me to kneel in the military vehicle for four hours. They dragged me by the cuffs tied behind my hands with full force, causing me to fall from the military vehicle. Then the soldiers deliberately beat me until my clothes were torn and my body bled.”
In a testimony from one of the female detainees, she said, “I was threatened with rape, and the interrogator renewed the threat of rape, saying I would be imprisoned for years, and cursed me with the filthiest insults. I was continuously shackled with double restraints on my hands and legs, which were tightly secured. I was prevented from using the restroom, filmed without permission, strip-searched, and placed in extremely harsh detention conditions in Hasharon prison. The guards deliberately placed my clothes on the bathroom door, making it extremely difficult to retrieve them after the search with male guards outside.”
Israeli occupation authorities practice enforced disappearance against Gaza Strip detainees, as released prisoners continue to reveal horrifying facts, harsh conditions, and brutal torture methods they face inside Sde Teiman detention center.
