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Monday 26 December 2011 - 10:15

Israel tortures Palestinian prisoners

Interview with Khalid al-Mudallal, operations coordinator for Ufree
Story Code : 125249
Israel tortures Palestinian prisoners
On October 18, 477 Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israel's jails as the first part of the deal to release 1,027 Palestinian inmates in exchange for Hamas-captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, before the release of the 1,027 prisoners, about 6,000 Palestinian detainees were held in Israeli prisons.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Khalid al-Mudallal, operations coordinator for Ufree, to share his opinion on this issue.

Following is a transcript of the interview:

Press TV: Well as we saw there really although the prisoners exchange is complete, there is so many Palestinian prisoners remaining in Israeli detention. How many prisoners from Palestine are still in Israeli detention?

Al-Mudallal: Initially Ufree would like to welcome release of Palestinians with full of joy to see those over 1,000 Palestinians being released after a long suffering that it has under detention, illegal detention by the Israeli occupation.

Palestinian suffering is continuing even after the release of over 1,000 prisoners. There are now over 5,000 prisoners inside Israeli jails including children and women. There are still four female prisoners, still imprisoned until now and there are over 110 child prisoners.

Press TV: Can we talk a little bit about why would women and children be detained? What crimes have they been detained for and what process do Palestinians collected from the West Bank can taken to these prisons go through?

Al-Mudallal: Palestinians in the West Bank specially have no power over these detentions. They have what so called checkpoints, once they pass these checkpoints and they can be at any time detained and taken away from the checkpoint to a prison cell without clearly giving them the reason why they have been arrested.

Most of the children that had been arrested in Israeli jails have been taken on throwing stones and been shouting to soldier and without really taking an offence.

Press TV: Once they are in detention, do they get lawyers, do they get phone calls, what happens after that?

Al-Mudallal: When Palestinians are detained they are different to any other detention, Israeli detention. They have no contact with the outside world. Most of them are put under administrative detention, under a detention where lawyers have no access to them.

Few months later, few days later, it depends on the Israeli military courts when they launch these courts, then they will be able to have access to lawyers.

Usually Palestinian organizations, the international Red Cross have also access to these prisoners but it is up to the Israeli military.

Press TV: The treatments of prisoners as we heard in that report there, is not normal in any kind of accepted way. So for example there were night storming that the prison guards will go into the cells at night, there is continued interrogations sometimes over 18 years. What measures can be taken to stop these?

Al-Mudallal: I mean with international organization specially an organization that works in Palestine, we do highlight on these illegal ways of torture and interrogation against Palestinian prisoners. The measures clearly have to be taken through the international community. The international community must now stop Israel from detaining Palestinians illegally and from interrogating them inside the prisons.

These Palestinians have to have direct access to lawyers, to legal aid and support and even their families have to have right to visit them and to be able to see them at agreed times.

Press TV: So hearing about the release of those prisoners, what sort of condition are the prisoners in when they do come home? I mean we heard that one prisoner in this exchange has been forced to live in Jordan. Is exile freedom?

Al-Mudallal: Really, I mean since the 477 prisoners came out we had time to investigate many of these cases. We do completely condemn the action of Israelis when they decided to exile a number of prisoners to many countries and the ones to Gaza.

We had reports on prisoners specially the ones who went to Gaza where their families, relatives in the West Bank were not allowed to leave West Bank to see them at least in Gaza Strip. And Ufree had launched a campaign to support these families and to be able to allow them into getting access to leave West Bank.

Press TV: Well this is actually not similar to the place of some Guantanamo Bay detainees who even when found innocent were released but they can never go back to their families or their homeland?

Al-Mudallal: These are the policies that we are trying to expose, we are trying to take out to the European mainstream public media to show the reality of the Israeli interrogation system to Palestinians not only been arrested but also when they are freed, they do not have any access to see their families or be able to go back to the villages and their towns or cities.

Press TV: Let's talk a little about those interrogation techniques then, because when you are first taken, if a prisoner is taken from a checkpoint they are interrogated for period of days, sometimes weeks but once they are in prison and they have gone before military, court does the interrogations cease?

Al-Mudallal: Not really. I mean interrogation is throughout; most of the reports came out of prisoners being freed, interrogation is on daily basis. When there are family visits they strip search them.

Press TV: Strip search the family members?

Al-Mudallal: Yes, they do, family members and prisoners before they leave the prisons cells and especially for women. We had a female prisoner, Bushra Altaweel who was released on Sunday. She was 17 years old and she was arrested, after five months she was under administrative detention.

She told Ufree that she was interrogated, she was strip searched inside prison and before she was released even, she was put in interrogation for over 30 days, and she was under aged girl, she was a minor girl.

Press TV: Let's just talk a little bit finally about the psychological damage or trauma that people might have suffered in Israeli detention. Are there any reports into that ongoing?

Al-Mudallal: Yes, especially with the prisoners who have been under isolation for number of years. There was one of the prisoners, Kolab; he was under isolation for 15 years. Kolab cannot speak with outside world, he cannot communicate with anybody. He can even barely know or communicate with his own family members.

There are reports from hospitals in Gaza that prisoners generally do face psychological effects and there are process and programs currently taking place to help those prisoners with living and being able to communicate with the outside world.
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