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Mu'ataz Suleiman Mohammed Qawasmeh described how his hands were painfully cuffed behind his back with metal cuffs connected by a 40 centimeter long chain fixed to the back of the chair. While in this position, he was intensively interrogated from 10 - 22 hours a day. As a result, he suffers spinal and shoulder pain.
For about 12 hours a day, Ahmad Samir Hassan Isma'il was cuffed the same way for nearly five days. As a result, he has lower back pain and paresthesia in both palms. Others now experience various upper body pain in their shoulders, neck, hands, arms, and elbows. They also suffer from swollen red hands, paresthesia, and leg pain for those whose legs were shackled.
Alaa Nasser Dib Salem revealed more - painful hands and feet shackling to a concrete bed in solitary confinement for two days without interrogation. After six hours, he experienced paresthesia throughout his body. He was also denied access to the bathroom and forced to urinate in his clothes. When he complained, two men in civilian clothes tortured him by painfully pressing on his cuffs, cursing him, and threatening to torture his family. Salem was later beaten on all parts of his body with a nightstick and lost consciousness. When revived, he was shaking.
PACTI concluded that "The behavior of the interrogators in these cases and in other similar cases....indicates the use of handcuffing as a form of torture in order to extract information unlawfully" with interrogators often told anything to stop the pain.
Non-Handcuffing of Detainees During Police Interrogations
After GSS interrogations, detainees are questioned by police, or at times interrogations are done alternately for different purposes. GSS wants information to protect state security while police need it for subsequent prosecutions. During their interrogations, cuffing isn't used, a clear sign that GSS does it solely to inflict pain.
PACTI concludes that GSS interrogators use "systematic handcuffing (for) extraneous motives....far removed from the need to 'protect the safety of the interrogators' or to 'prevent escape from custody.' " Painful cuffing is used solely to torture, abuse, and inflict permanent impairment. "This behavior is inconsistent with the declared objectives and those set in (international and Israeli) law...."
Shackling Sick Detainees and Prisoners During Medical Treatment
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