2017-09-10

Gaza

Gaza

His Excellency the Attorney General Dia’ Al-Deen Al-Madhoon/ Gaza

Subject: Allegations of torture and violation of fair trial guarantees

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extend their warmest greetings, noting that we received a complaint in writing on 10/09/2017 from a citizen named ……………………………., residing in ……………………….., stating that his nephew, named ………………….., fatherless and 16 years old, was detained over two months ago following a quarrel at the police station in …………………….., and he is still kept in detention to this moment.

The complainant added that the detained child had continuously complained about the maltreatment in the detention room where he was kept along with other indictees who are adults and involved in drug cases. The complaint also stated that he was beaten and abused more than once by some of the security officers who work at the detention center as well as some of the indictees. The complainant mentioned that he objected to such a treatment to the Director of the center: ……………………., who denied all of the requests and objections submitted by the family of the detained child in this regard. Not to mention that the Director refused to give the detainee permission to spend the holidays with his family without giving any reasonable justification.

According to the complaint, the complainant and the family of the detained child were prohibited from visiting him in the center despite their continuous requests and demands. The complainant also stated that the detained child is currently staying at Al-Shifa’ hospital in Gaza in a state of clinical death. According to what was announced officially, the detained child attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself, without any suspicion of criminal offence.

As an independent non-governmental watchdog organization, MUSAWA believes that the contents of the said complaint, if true, address a serious violation of the detainees’ right to physical integrity, particularly when dealing with juveniles, as well as an unjustified infringement by the security agents of the detention center and a deviation from their competencies and the rules of dealing with juveniles. 

According to the Basic Law, it is prohibited to subject any person to coercion or torture, and indictees shall be innocent until proven guilty by a decent and fair trial. This applies from the very first moment of the detention until the final judgment is pronounced by the court.

As per the Palestinian Child Law, priority should be given to the educational and preventive measures, and turning to preventive detention or imposing of liberty-depriving penalties against children should be avoided as much as possible.

Also, the Reform and Rehabilitation Centers Law stresses the need to detain children under the age of 18 in the institutions allocated for them, such as Al-Rabee’ Foundation, and away from adult detainees and convicts.

According to the articles and provisions of the international agreements and conventions, and the criminal approach adopted internationally, detaining juvenile children prior to trials should be turned-to only exceptionally and in the strictest manner. In this case, the child shall be entitled to all his/her rights and his/her physical as well as psychological integrity. Also, should a child be detained in accordance with the said standards, the detention must take place in a social welfare home under the supervision of a child protection mentor.

The aforementioned agreements and conventions stressed that juveniles should not be held in custody prior to trials for more than the minimum period of detention, knowing that detention should be used only as a last resort and in the narrowest manner possible, and that priority should be given to the juvenile’s release from custody and that he/she should be granted the necessary leaves, especially public holidays.

Accordingly, we ask you to act upon this memo as appropriate, including carrying-out an investigation and bringing those who are proven by evidence to have caused prejudice to the physical integrity of the detained child (the right to life) to justice. The detainee and his parents shall have the right to seek a fair remedy and to provide us with a response to this memo. 

Issued on 10/09/2017

Chairman of MUSAWA’s Board of Directors

Adv. Yasser Jabr

- Attachments: A copy of the complaint.