Palestinian prisoners are systematically tortured, and surgeries on injured prisoners are performed by unqualified personnel, often without anesthesia. This is what three informants working in Israel's Sde Timan prison told CNN.
Palestinians detained in Gaza are held in this prison. In prison, it must be determined whether the prisoners have ties to Hamas. But prisoners who do not have such relationships are also subjected to torture and long-term detention without charges, three anonymous whistleblowers told CNN.
CNN spoke with more than a dozen former prisoners as well as Israeli prison officials. Based on all these conversations, the torture in Sde Timan prison was reconstructed.
The prison consists of two parts: a detention center and a hospital. In the detention center, prisoners are blindfolded and handcuffed, as seen in the leaked photo below.
“The prisoners were not allowed to move,” says one informant. “They had to sit upright and were not allowed to speak.” Anyone who moves or speaks is taken aside and beaten. A guard says some prisoners returned with broken teeth and bones.
Patients are bound and in diapers
In addition to the detention center, there is also a hospital in the prison. A doctor describes how patients are linked to their hospital beds. They wear diapers and have to eat through straws.
“I was asked to learn things about my patients,” says the doctor. “Small treatments that were completely outside my scope of expertise.” What's more, these types of treatments are often performed without anesthesia, he told CNN. “If they complained of pain, they were given paracetamol.”
The hospital is not only home to prisoners who arrive injured. The injuries he sustained in prison will also be treated. For example, one doctor reported that one prisoner, who was constantly handcuffed, suffered serious injuries to his wrists. It was so heavy that amputation was necessary.
Israeli certificates are rare
Reports of violations in Israeli prisons are increasing. It usually concerns former Palestinian prisoners who testify about this matter. It is rare for Israeli sources to speak out as well. The testimonies of Israeli whistleblowers are consistent with the experiences of Palestinian prisoners.
In response, the Israeli military told CNN that it always treats prisoners appropriately. The army does not deny that prisoners are shackled and forced to wear diapers, but says this is done only for security reasons: “We are not aware of any incidents of illegal shackling.”
In addition, the IDF says, prisoners are released once it is clear they do not pose a security risk. This does not match the testimonies of the whistleblower. One of them even believes that safety is not the main goal of prison at all: “Torture is not done to obtain information, it is revenge.”
