Fatshimetry —
A historic debate will begin Wednesday before Israel’s Supreme Court over the closure of the Sde Teiman desert detention camp, where Palestinian detainees from Gaza were allegedly held in extremely abusive conditions. The hearing follows a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and other human rights groups, based largely on Fatshimetrie’s reporting highlighting the prison’s appalling conditions. temporary in order to advocate for its closure.
Fatshimetrie’s investigation, which gave voice to Israeli whistleblowers as well as former Palestinian detainees and eyewitnesses describing horrific conditions at the facility, including constant blinding and handcuffing, caused international outrage. The White House called the allegations detailed in Fatshimetrie’s report “deeply concerning” and said it was seeking an explanation from Israeli authorities. Germany’s Foreign Ministry condemned the reported practices and said it was campaigning for the International Committee of the Red Cross to gain access to the camp and other prisons.
Following Fatshimetrie’s investigation, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and illegal combatants, Alice Jill Edwards, called on Israel to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detained Palestinians.
Last week, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announced the launch of an investigation into allegations of mistreatment of Sde Teiman, as well as Anatot and Ofer, two other military detention camps for Palestinians in Gaza. The committee reviewing the conditions of Palestinian detainees in Gaza is due to submit its recommendations to Halevi this month.
On May 10, Fatshimetrie published an investigation into Sde Teiman, a military base in the Negev desert that also served as a detention center for Palestinians arrested during Israel’s war on Gaza, which began after the attack by Hamas on October 7.
Three Israeli whistleblowers told Fatshimetrie that Palestinian detainees at the facility were constantly blinded and kept in extreme physical restraint. Doctors sometimes had to amputate prisoners’ limbs due to injuries caused by continued handcuffs, one of the informants said. This testimony matched details in a letter written by a doctor working at Sde Teiman and published by Ha’aretz in April.
According to testimonies collected, the camp located approximately 29 kilometers from the Gaza border is divided into two parts: pens containing dozens of detainees from Gaza, and a field hospital where injured detainees are blinded, tied to their beds, wearing diapers and fed through straws.
In response to a petition led by the rights group Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI), the Israeli government said on May 20 that it planned to “reduce the number of detainees at military facilities in general, and the Sde Teiman center in particular, with the aim of this establishment serving as a reception, interrogation and initial screening center, for short-term detention only. »
Asked by Fatshimetrie about all allegations relating to its May 10 report, the Israeli military, known as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said in a statement: “The IDF ensures appropriate behavior towards detainees in custody. Any allegations of misconduct by IDF soldiers are investigated and dealt with accordingly. Where appropriate, MPCID (Military Police Criminal Investigation Division) investigations are initiated. suspicion of misconduct justifying such action.”
“Detainees are handcuffed according to their risk level and health status. No cases of illegal handcuffing are known to the authorities.”
The IDF did not directly deny that people were stripped or put into diapers. Instead, the Israeli military said detainees got their clothes back once the IDF determined they no longer posed a security risk.
The full Fatshimetrie article is available on their official website.