When a person is in the custody of law enforcement, they should not be TORTURED, sexually assaulted or raped... In this case, the Palestinian was also allegedly SODOMIZED(raped)...in Israeli Detention Facility..
In all, 10 soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention facility were detained on July 29 for the suspected sexual abuse of a Hamas police officer who had been arrested in the Gaza Strip several weeks prior. Prosecutors did not seek to hold the other five soldiers in custody, following new evidence in the case....The investigation into the soldiers was launched after the detained terror suspect was brought from the base to a hospital with signs of serious abuse, including to his anus.
Footage aired by Channel 12 news last week showed soldiers at Sde Teiman taking aside a detainee, who had been lying face down on the floor, then surrounding him with riot shields while they allegedly committed the abuse.What about Malaysia? There have been cases of torture, even deaths in custody and rape/sexual assault whilst in custody. There could also have been Rape SODOMY - where law enforcement officers may be perpetrator of these wrong deed or crimes.
Malaysians consider this UNLAWFUL - But then, why have there been no specific laws in Malaysia that prohibit TORTURE?
There must be different specific laws that criminalizes acts of police and law enforcement officers - where such crimes committed by those responsible to protect the LAW and/or enforce the law is so much more serious, and must carry a heavy penalty. Since these criminal are public servants, maybe the penalty should also include a LOSS of pension. Why should the people bear the cost of paying pensions or salaries of such criminal law enforcement officers.
We can condemn the Israeli law enforcement for this case, and for other cases of custodial torture, rape and even killing - BUT then, let us ensure we in Malaysia also have laws where the perpetrators are charged in court, tried and if convicted sentenced heavily. The use of mere DISCIPLINARY ACTION is not enough - they should be charged and tried in court for their crimes.
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture appalled by allegation of sexual torture by Israeli soldiers and calls for accountability
16 August 2024
The
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, has condemned the
latest allegation of sexual assault by Israeli soldiers against a
Palestinian man in their custody. This follows her formal communication with
Israel in May about multiple allegations of torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against Palestinians
detained since 7 October 2023.
“There are no circumstances in which sexual torture or sexualised inhuman and degrading treatment can be justified,” Edwards said.
“All alleged crimes committed within the context of this terrible war must be investigated transparently and impartially, and those responsible held accountable by civilian courts of law.”
Thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel since 7 October 2023.
“This alleged sexual torture involving multiple offenders is particularly gruesome. In an official meeting with Israeli authorities, I have been informed that several soldiers suspected of involvement have been identified and are currently under investigation.”
Edwards called for this process to take place without interference.
“I am troubled by recent attempts by Israeli citizens – including reportedly one member of parliament – to intervene violently after the arrests of soldiers on these abuse charges,” the expert said.
“Criminal proceedings into all allegations must proceed unhindered. No one is above the law. No one is immune from prosecution for torture.”
The Special Rapporteur said she continues to push for accountability for all allegations of torture and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during this war, including in meetings with both representatives of the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
She reiterated her call for the immediate release of all remaining Israeli hostages who are being held unlawfully by Hamas and other armed groups, as well as the swift release of all Palestinians arbitrarily detained. She welcomed the oversight by the High Court of Justice of Sde Teiman military camp, which has been a site of many serious allegations.
Dr. Alice Jill Edwards is the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Source: UN Website(follow link to see other documents)
‘No Justification for Sexual Torture’ in Israeli Prisons – UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
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By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle 
“No one is above the law. No one is immune from prosecution for torture.”
The UN special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, has condemned the sexual assault of a Palestinian detainee by Israeli soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention center.
“This alleged sexual torture involving multiple offenders is particularly gruesome,” Edwards said on Friday. “There are no circumstances in which sexual torture or sexualized inhuman and degrading treatment can be justified.”
Leaked footage from surveillance cameras showed the detainee being picked out from a group of about 30 others lying bound and blindfolded on the ground. The detainee is then escorted to a corner where guards, trying to hide their act with shields, proceed to rape him.
Israeli Channel 12, which recently aired the video, said the detainee was bleeding and taken to hospital where his condition was described as “complex,” adding that “the injury was caused by the insertion of an object.”
The UN rapporteur said “I have been informed that several soldiers suspected of involvement have been identified and are currently under investigation,” in an official meeting with Israeli authorities.
‘Violent Interference’
She said she was “troubled by recent attempts by Israeli citizens – including reportedly one member of parliament – to intervene violently after the arrests of soldiers on these abuse charges,” and called for the investigation to take place without interference.
“Criminal proceedings into all allegations must proceed unhindered. No one is above the law. No one is immune from prosecution for torture,” she said.
Ten occupation soldiers were detained on July 29 for the sexual assault, but five were later released after riots erupted when far-right Jewish settlers and politicians broke into two military bases where the soldiers were being held.
On Tuesday, the remaining five were released and placed under house arrest by an Israeli military court.
According to Haaretz, the court ordered the soldiers to remain under house arrest for ten days until August 22 after an agreement between the military prosecution and the soldiers’ defense lawyers.
The soldiers “were suspected of aggravated sodomy (a charge equivalent to rape), causing bodily harm under aggravated circumstances, abuse under aggravated circumstances, and conduct unbecoming of a soldier,” the Times of Israel reported, citing the Israeli military.
Inhumane Practices
In recent months, numerous reports have emerged of mass abuse of Palestinian prisoners from Gaza at the infamous Sde Teiman prison in the Negev desert, southern Israel.
Last month, Israel’s Attorney-General requested the closure of Sde Teiman “immediately”, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing Israeli media.
Haaretz published a report on Friday of an unnamed Israeli physician who gave a first-hand account to the Israeli newspaper of the inhumane practices detainees from Gaza are subjected to by Israeli forces at Sde Teiman.
The doctor told Haaretz that his entire experience of serving at the detention facility of Sde Teiman “felt so surrealistic to me… Like, everything I’d been taught, all the years in university and in hospitals, how to treat people – all that exists, but in an environment in which 20 people are being held naked in a tent. It’s something you can’t imagine.”
He also said, “…to hold a person without letting them move any of their limbs, blindfolded, naked, under treatment, in the middle of the desert… in the end it’s no less than torture.”
‘Welcome to Hell’
A new report by the B’Tselem Israeli human rights group documented testimonies from 55 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli detention facilities.
Titled ‘Welcome to Hell’ the report indicates “a systemic, institutional policy focused on the continual abuse and torture of all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.”
It documented frequent acts of severe, arbitrary violence; sexual assault; humiliation and degradation, deliberate starvation; forced unhygienic conditions; sleep deprivation, prohibition on, and punitive measures for, religious worship; confiscation of all communal and personal belongings; and denial of adequate medical treatment.
The organization said “no less than 60” Palestinian prisoners have died in Israeli custody.
The report also documented “unrelenting physical and psychological abuse,” with testimonies attesting to physical, sexual, psychological and verbal violence, directed at all Palestinian prisoners and “perpetrated in an arbitrary, menacing fashion, usually under a shroud of anonymity.”
“The scope of violence emerging from the testimonies clarifies that these are not isolated, random incidents, but rather an institutional policy integral to the treatment of prisoners,” said B’Tselem.
Ahead of indictments, suspects in Sde Teiman abuse case to be sent to house arrest
Defense, prosecution come to agreement to extend five suspects’ remands, as Military Police probe of alleged sexual abuse of Palestinian detainee expected to wrap up
Five reserve soldiers suspected of the sexual abuse of a Palestinian terror detainee at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel were to be released to house arrest on Tuesday.
The move comes as the Military Police was expected to wrap up its investigation into the high-profile abuse case, and potentially file indictments against the suspects, subject to a hearing.
In all, 10 soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention facility were detained on July 29 for the suspected sexual abuse of a Hamas police officer who had been arrested in the Gaza Strip several weeks prior. Prosecutors did not seek to hold the other five soldiers in custody, following new evidence in the case.
The investigation into the soldiers was launched after the detained terror suspect was brought from the base to a hospital with signs of serious abuse, including to his anus.
According to the IDF, the soldiers were suspected of aggravated sodomy (a charge equivalent to rape), causing bodily harm under aggravated circumstances, abuse under aggravated circumstances, and conduct unbecoming of a soldier.
Some of the suspects were also suspected of assault and interfering with the work of public servants, the IDF said.
Footage aired by Channel 12 news last week showed soldiers at Sde Teiman taking aside a detainee, who had been lying face down on the floor, then surrounding him with riot shields while they allegedly committed the abuse.
Military prosecutors said Tuesday that they were seeking to extend the detention of the five remaining suspects until August 22.
Meanwhile, the defense said that it had come to an agreement with the prosecution to extend the suspects’ remands, while releasing them to house arrest.
The agreement between the prosecution and defense was to be presented to judges at a military court during a remand hearing later on Tuesday.
The reservists were arrested by masked Military Police detectives at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel on July 29. After the arrests, a mob of far-right activists and lawmakers broke into the base and demonstrated, and later stormed the Beit Lid base where the suspects were being held and questioned.
Throughout the Israel-Hamas war, Sde Teiman has been used to hold more than 1,000 detainees from Gaza who were suspected of terrorist activity. The vast majority were suspected of taking part in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Terror operatives and other suspects are generally initially held in detention facilities at the IDF’s Sde Teiman, Anatot, and Ofer bases, before being handed over to the Israel Prison Service. The detainees can legally be held for 45 days before they must be either released or moved into the care of the IPS.
The IDF announced in May that it was investigating suspicions of abuse and torture of detainees in Sde Teiman following reports that the prisoners were being severely mistreated.
The reports alleged widespread abuse of prisoners, including extreme
use of physical restraints, beatings, neglect of medical problems,
arbitrary punishments, and more. - Times of Israel, 13/8/2024
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