No one knows what is going on within its walls, it is not monitored and it is not open to communication. Not far from the casino that operated in Jericho 20 years ago until the start of the second intifada, is the nightmare of every Palestinian detainee. The Jericho prison has become a code name for the Palestinian Authority's number one torture center in the territories. Anyone who gets there knows exactly what to expect.
Palestinians recently detained at a Jericho detention facility complain that they have been subjected to cruel physical and mental torture.
The horrific stories coming out of prison, or as it is more commonly known as the "Jericho Slaughterhouse," shed light on the interrogation methods and severe torture experienced by the Palestinian detainees.
Some call the place the "Guantanamo of the Palestinian Authority," comparing it to a prison the Americans set up in Cuba at the time, which has since closed.
According to testimonies of Palestinians arrested at the Jericho facility, torture includes beating all parts of the body, covering the head (praise), tying hands behind the back for extended hours, tying a chair in painful positions, preventing food and sleep, banning meetings with lawyers and family members, threatening sexual violence against women , Extortion, intimidation and threats to harm family members.
Palestinian human rights groups report that Palestinian security forces have in recent weeks made a wave of arrests of Palestinian activists suspected of involvement in political and propaganda activities against the Palestinian Authority or belonging to Hamas.
The detainees' lawyers and family members complained about a mask of severe torture at the Jericho detention facility.
A few days ago, a protest demonstration took place in Manara Square in downtown Ramallah, during which they called for the release of the detainees and the closure of the infamous prison.
Torture facility.
"Someone needs to intervene", Photo: AFP
"For a week now I have been beaten in all parts of my body, handcuffed in all sorts of positions in a way that bends my back or my hands are hanging up, and heavy iron and white objects are placed on my legs," said Palestinian detainee Ahmad Harish when he appeared in court.
"Ahmed can not walk, nor move his head or make movements. He does not respond, and we understand that he is being tortured, tied up with cables, his eyes are constantly covered, and beaten. He has lost half his weight, and his speech is heavy, hard to grasp. "He said he had never known such torture," Harish's sister said, blaming Ahmad's life on Palestinian Authority officials, the courts and the prosecution.
"We will not wait for my brother to be Nizar Banat," she said, referring to a Hebron political activist who was beaten to death by Palestinian security forces during his arrest last year.
Additional testimony comes from Advocate Ahmad Khassib, a resident of one of the villages near Ramallah, who was also arrested and held in a Jericho prison. He described them as "false accusations" in connection with the explosives lab incident in Beituniya, claiming that they were exposed to barbaric interrogations and torture. , Said Karaja.
Ahmad Harish, Photo: Palestinian Networks
"False charges".
Adv. Ahmad Khasib, Photo: Palestinian Networks
The Jericho Prison has a joint committee that includes representatives of all Palestinian security services and its role is to deal with problematic and dangerous detainees.
The detention facility includes not only Hamas and Islamic Jihad members and unruly Fatah operatives suspected of being "enemies of the PA," but also opposition activists suspected of being opponents of the regime and anyone the PA decides to label as "harming public order and national stability."
Two and a half years ago, it was Suha Jabara, a mother of three, whose testimony stirred up the Palestinian street.
She was held in a Jericho prison after being arrested on charges of receiving illegal money and collaborating with the enemy.
"The interrogator threatened me with rape. They poured cold water on me and threatened to take my children away from me," she said in a videotaped testimony.
The Palestinian Authority has denied the allegations.
Due to the torture she was forced to seek psychiatric treatment, and her trial in court is still ongoing.
Suha Jabara, Photo: Palestinian Networks
"Contrary to all art"
According to the Palestinian Authority for Human Rights, 252 complaints of torture were recorded in prisons in the PA in 2021. According to a Palestinian source, the number of actual torture cases is much higher than the number of registered complaints.
On paper, Palestinian law ostensibly prohibits torture, and a few years ago the Palestinian Authority issued a decision in that spirit.
But in practice, the evidence shows that the practice of torturing detainees in interrogation facilities continues, and is not effectively supervised.
"It is very disturbing and contrary to all international art and practice. Someone has to intervene in what is happening there. The work of the joint committee of the mechanisms in Jericho prison needs to be stopped. Following the criticism of the torture there was a decision two years ago "Israel today".
Dr. Omar Rachel, director of the Ashmas Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Ramallah, says that "there should be supervision and implementation of the law's decisions.
"There is no planned and deliberate decision from above to use torture, and as it happens, it is done by people at the field level."
Human rights organizations make allegations against Israel for violating rights and its treatment of Palestinian detainees, while most of them ignore complaints of torture in the PA.
Next month, US President Joe Biden will visit the Middle East and meet with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. At the Saudi consulate in Turkey, the Palestinians will have to provide explanations, but even before that, the Americans will have to demand them.
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