Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 23:22:36 EST From: freemanaz@aol.com Subject: [azpeace] URGENT ACTION: Help Over 1000 Palestinians To: azpeace@yahoogroups.com Reply-To: azpeace@yahoogroups.com
Amnesty Stop Torture FEAR FOR SAFETY & TORTURE Over 1000 Palestinians 2002-04-05 Israel
Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of more than one thousand Palestinians detained by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), during the past week in refugee camps and towns in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Some Palestinians have been reportedly tortured by being beaten or held for prolonged periods in painful positions. All detainees are reportedly being held in conditions which amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. A Military Order has just been issued denying access of detainees to lawyers.
Detainees are being held at a number of IDF military camps and settlements, but the IDF will not reveal the names of those they have arrested and where they are located. In violation of internatinal human rights treaties, such the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Israel is a State party, detainees have been held in conditions which constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Those arrested and released have also reported being threatened and beaten by members of the IDF who detained them. They have been handcuffed for extended periods of tme, and sometimes denied food, water and permission to use the toilet. Despite the cold nights, many detainees and sleeping on cold slabs and most spent the first night without being provided with a blanket.
Under international standards, any person who is arrested, detained or imprisoned has the right to inform, or have the authorities notify, their family or friends. The information must include the fact of their arrest or detention and the place where they are being kept in custody. The families of the detainees, have not received such information and do not know whether their relatives are dead or alive, following unconfirmed reports that some Palestinians taken by the IDF were extrajudicially executed.
ACT NOWSign the petition and express your concern for Over 1000 Palestinians
ONE CLICK TO STAMP OUT TORTURE http://www.stoptorture.org/
The next step for you to take is to send a message directly to te proper authorities. Amnesty International has designated the following contacts of having responsibility in the case of Over 1000 Palestinians. An appeal from you to the authorities will have impact. You can help stop torture. Every appeal counts. A personal message to perpetrators of torture is an individual's most powerful tool in the fight to stamp out torture. PLEASE CONTINUE TO ACT.
Recommended Actions
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language, calling on the Israeli authorities: * to release the names and locations of people who are detained and to permit them to contact their families; * to ensure that detainees are treated strictly in accordance with international standards on the treatment of people in detention, treated humanely and given immediate access to family and lawyers; * calling for all detainees to be charged with recognizably criminal offence or immediately released; * to investigate reports of torture or other ill-treatment and ensure appropriate disciplinary or legal action is taken against any official who has violated detainees' rights.
Email: mailto:rohm@pmo.gov.il
Please send a copy of your message to us at Amnesty International by copying us in at cc.appeals@amnesty.org If you should receive a reply from the official you have emailed please send a copy to us at gov.replies@amnesty.org.
Or write to: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Prime Minister Office of the Prime Minister 3 Kaplan Street PO Box 187 Kiryat Ben-Gurion Jerusalem 91919 Israel
Telegram: Prime Minister, Jerusalem, Israel Fax: + 972 2 651 2631 Salutation: 'Dear Prime Minister'
Write to: Lieutenant-General Shaul Mufaz Chief of General Staff - The Chief of General Staff c/o Ministry of Defence 7 'A' Street Hakirya Tel Aviv Israel
Telegram: Chief of General Staff, Jerusalem, Israel Telephone: - Fax: + 972 3 691 6940 Salutation: 'Dear Lieutenant-Geneal'
Write to: Benjamin Ben-Eliezer Minister of Defence - The Minister of Defence Ministry of Defence Kaplan Street Hakirya Tel Aviv 67659 Israel
Telegram: Minister of Defence, Jerusalem, Israel Telephone: - Fax: + 972 3 691 6940 Salutation: 'Dear Minister'
Visit http://www.stoptorture.org/urgent/index.php?ua=25 to view case updates.
Have you asked five friends to take their step to stamp out torture yet? Send them an email postcard from http://www.stoptorture.org/postcard/index.php
Together we can help to Stamp Out Torture.
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