NEW YORK, (PIC)
Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on the issue of torture, called for bringing to account the Israeli soldiers accused of sexual crimes against detained Palestinians.
Edwards condemned in a statement on Friday the particularly horrific case in which a Palestinian prisoner was sexually assaulted by Israeli soldiers.
She said, “Those who commit such crimes must be held accountable – there are no circumstances in which sexual torture or inhumane and degrading sexual treatment can be justified.”
Edwards added that “the sexual torture in which many perpetrators were involved is horrific,” noting that the Israeli authorities informed her that many of the soldiers suspected of involvement are under investigation.
She stressed the importance of investigating all alleged crimes and holding those responsible accountable in civil courts.
Earlier, an Israeli military doctor revealed a horrific testimony of what injured and sick prisoners live through in the notorious Sde Teiman camp, saying that the wounded are sent to stables to recover while they need to stay in intensive care for days.
Last Tuesday, the Israeli military advocate general confirmed that it had reached an agreement with the military prosecution, which would result in the release of the five soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian prisoner from the Gaza Strip in the Sde Teiman detention center.
In an attempt to distort the facts of what happened, Israeli medical reports, based on a request from the defense team for the detained soldiers, claimed that the prisoner had harmed himself in the case that was uncovered about two weeks ago.
Under the agreement, the soldiers will be placed under house arrest until the investigations against them are completed.
This contradicts the initial medical reports, which indicated that something had been inserted into the prisoner’s body, necessitating his transfer to receive treatment in a hospital. A video clip showed the moment of the assault on him by the soldiers.
