Volume 18

January 2010

Dear friends and supporters of PCATI,

This year, PCATI's accomplishments in our ongoing Sisyphean legal battle were significant:

High Court Language use in Interrogation
Last May, the High Court justices noted that PCATI's petition was responsible for bringing about significant improvements in the implementation of a law, which requires that police interrogations and confessions be conducted and recorded in the language of the suspect. The judges added that the situation is still far from satisfactory and enjoined the state to fulfill its commitment to ensure the full implementation of the law. We will continue to monitor the process of execution of this important legislation.

Petition Regarding the Conditions of Detention at the Ofer and Salem Military Courts:
Following a petition by PCATI, filed in conjunction with Attorney Fares Abu Hassan and Physicians for Human Rights, in November, the State announced the beginning of construction of new detention facilities next to the Ofer military court near Ramallah. This is due to the appalling conditions of detention in the courts' holding cells, which prompted the filing of the petition. The state has undertaken to act quickly to improve the harsh conditions prevailing in the corresponding facility at camp Salem in the Jenin area.

Petition to Increase the Charges listed in the Indictments Against The Officer And Soldier Filmed Shooting An Anti-Wall Protestor in the Palestinian Village Of Ni'lin:
Following a petition by human rights organizations (B'Tselem, ACRI, Yesh Din and PCATI), the High Court ruled in July against the IDF Military Advocate General's decision to indict the soldier who fired the shot and the officer who apparently gave the order on minor charges. The court ruled that the charges were unreasonable and ordered that these be changed to reflect the gravity of the offense. This event was especially shocking as it captured on film a bound and blindfolded detainee, Ashraf Abu Rahma, being shot in his legs, at close range. It generated extensive public debate. (link to the video?)

Freedom of information petition (FOI):
The Jerusalem District Court partially accepted a FOI petition, submitted by PCATI and the Movement for Freedom of Information. In February 2009, the Court ordered the Ministry of Justice to hand over part of the information requested in the petition regarding the handling of torture complaints investigated by the GSS.

These accomplishments notwithstanding, we were less successful in persuading the Court in some of our other legal actions. In March, PCATI, ACRI and Adalah jointly submitted a principle petition to the High Court to nullify legislation that severely violates the rights of detainees suspected of security offenses. The petition was withdrawn, however, by the organizations in an act of protest against the unprecedented decision by the judges to hear ex parte, classified material from the GSS, and to potentially base their decisions on this evidence. Further, in July the High Court rejected the contempt of court motion submitted jointly by PCATI, ACRI and the Center for the Defense of the Individual (Hamoked) on the state's on going violation of the 1999 HJC ruling on torture. The judges argued that this procedure is not the proper forum for challenging alleged violations of the ruling, which, they stated, is declarative" in nature.

In addition to these successes, in 2009 our intensive legal advocacy work moved forward and included the submission of numerous individual complaints, over one hundred visits to detainees and prisoners at various detention facilities, as well as petitions to the High Court against the GSS use of shackling as an interrogation tool, and action to fight the involvement of doctors in torture, which was done with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.

Public engagement activities

Shackling as a Form of Abuse and Torture:
In June we ran a campaign and published a report on "Shackling as a form of abuse and torture". The release of the report was accompanied by an internet campaign on the Ha'aretz website, a video clip (Hebrew) produced in collaboration with "Social Television", and a conference in which six Israel Prize laureates repudiated Israel's ongoing use of torture. We also held a rally in front of the High Court of Justice(Hebrew) which was documented by photographer Miki Kratsman and converted to a video presentation. The report, as well as the petition submitted to the High Court, received extensive media exposure and were taken up in the Knesset plenum.

Changes in the IDF Combat Doctrine:
In early December, almost one year after Operation Cast Lead, we published a special report, "No Second Thoughts: Changes in the IDF's Combat Doctrine In Light Of 'Operation Cast Lead' which pointed to the fundamental shift in the IDF's combat doctrine, as evidenced in the operation.

We showed that the new combat principles were to blame for the high civilian death toll and the intentional, large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. The report concluded with a call for a substantial public debate about these changes, which have a far-reaching impact, both in terms of civilian casualties as a result of combat, as well as in the context of Israel's standing in the world, and in the situation where Israel's military officers and political leaders risk facing arrest and criminal charges outside the country.

This report was produced in addition to the many activities that arose from the fighting in Gaza. These included our work during and in the immediate aftermath of the operation, and activities carried out in collaboration with other organizations, as well as our work at the international level, primarily our testimonies before the Goldstone Committee regarding Israel's treatment of the Gaza residents it arrested during the operation.

Lack of Investigation and Punishment of Torture and Ill Treatment during GSS Interrogations:

On 28 December we published our latest report "Accountability Denied", which deals extensively with the immunity awarded to perpetrators of torture in Israel. We pointed out that criminal investigations are, without exception, always denied in complaints of torture in Israel. Complaints are invariably brought to a halt upon the recommendation of the person responsible for reviewing complaint filed by the detainees, a GSS agent whose role it is to review complaints filed against officials in the organization in which he is employed - a recommendation that always wins approval the approval of the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General. Thus, out of more than 600 complaints of torture filed over a period of 9 years, not one was found worthy of criminal investigation.

Meetings and contact with the public

In 2009 we continued the trend of having meetings with the Israeli public. Earlier this year we held an exhibition in the Barbur Gallery in Jerusalem entitled "Silence over the Abyss", which we had previously been exhibited at the Tel Aviv Artists House in late 2008. As part of the exhibition we held a series of open events in the gallery, focusing on various aspects of the current public silence in the face of oppression. During the year we continued to hold film and human rights meetings with youth and adults in various settings. We set up booths and engaged in conversations with the audience at "Festival B'Shekel" in Lod and in Jerusalem's Katamonim neighborhood, as well as in the Day Against Violence organized by social change organizations in Tel Aviv. At these events we spoke with the public and handed out PCATI literature, which we published this year in Hebrew, Arabic and English, as well as copies of the various reports released by PCATI. We spoke to students - Israelis, Palestinians, and foreign - in different settings, we participated in discussions at the Israel Democracy Institute and in conferences and meetings with various groups in the Israeli public and the Palestinian Authority.

During the year we produced 6 newsletters which we distributed through our mailing lists, each of them in Hebrew and English, and we made sure to issue additional relevant updates relating to specific activities, accomplishments and publications. These updates we sent you a series of videos, both those we produced in collaboration with Social Television, as well as those we made in collaboration with other organizations.

We ended the year with two events to draw attention to the ongoing challenge of fighting Israeli impunity. "The Secret Agent and Attorney General's Ball" held on 10 December, International Human Rights Day, used music and musings to draw attention to the serious discrepancies between Israel's record on torture and its international legal and moral obligations. We took an academic approach to this problem by holding an international conference on the issue of torture, torturers and the institutional shield afforded them by the State. The conference marked, the tenth anniversary of the Israeli High Court's "torture ruling" and was held jointly with the Academic Center for Business and Law in Ramat Gan. During the conference we presented our new report on the failure of Israel to hole torturers accountable for their crimes.

Media Activities:

During 2009 PCATI and its activities were referenced over 400 times - in Hebrew, Arabic, English and other languages. We had extensive additional media coverage of activities in which we participated with other organizations, where PCATI was not mentioned by name, in particular with regard to our work around the fighting in Gaza. These achievements were made possible thanks to a long series of rich and varied activities combined with frequent press releases issued by PCATI in different languages. In addition, we published several ads in the print media and ran online campaigns, both alone as well as in collaboration with other organizations.

2009 Budget:
PCATI's budget for activities in 2009 was approximately 2.5 million NIS, consisting of contributions from new as well as long-standing funders, about 17% less than the previous year's budget. However, we succeeded in carrying out our work plan and dealt with unexpected events through successful cooperation with other organizations in Israel and abroad, and with the assistance of volunteers without whom we would not have been able to carry out such a broad variety of activities

This year we built a membership of about 100 "Friends of PCATI". Your support was crucial to us, during planning meetings and at public events, making us feel we were not alone in the struggle and helping us finance some of our activities. We have enjoyed your support during the year, and look forward to receiving your moral, political and economic support for our activities in the coming year. We are happy to have our veteran supporters remain with us and to welcome new supporters to the struggle.

Sincerely yours,
Dr. Ishai Menuchin
Executive Director

 Events

"Silence over the Abyss"

 "Festival B'Shekel"

"The Secret Agent and Attorney General's Ball"

Day Against Violence

the tenth anniversary of the Israeli High Court's "torture ruling"

 film and human rights