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At PACTI's request, Dr. Bettina Steiner-Birmanns said:
"Tight handcuffs - such as narrow and rigid plastic handcuffs with no space between the cuffs and the detainee's hands - press forcefully on the wrists. The detainee is liable to remain (in restraint) for protracted periods. In these conditions, the handcuffs may cause injuries to soft tissue and abrasions, skin wounds, and even fractures. The handcuffs also press on the nerves in the palms, thereby causing paralyses and a loss of sensation in (them). These neurological injuries may be transient but they may also be permanent....From the neurologist's viewpoint....tight handcuffs can cause transient or irreversible damage...."
Correspondence with Army Authorities
All detainees are subjected to the same abuse with slight variations. PACTI asked authorities to provide regulations, procedures, or orders regarding the use of plastic (or other type) handcuffs. In response, Major Zohar Halevy, the IDF Spokesperson's Division Human Rights and Public Relations head, issued a statement saying:
"In principle, force is not to be exercised against another person in order to execute a function or perform a duty unless the function cannot be executed or the duty performed without the exercising of force."
Regarding forceful handcuffing, Major Halevy added that military police orders establish that:
"the use of force shall be in such measure as is necessary and logical while adapting given the circumstances. This shall be reasonably proportional to the desired goal. (Furthermore), the shackling of detainees outside the detention center shall be effected solely by the use of handcuffs, in such manner that the accompanying MP is shackled by the hand to the detainee, or when two detainees are shackled together and the MP accompanies them....it must be ensured that the accompaniers have cutters in order to cut the handcuffs when necessary."
In response to a further PACTI inquiry, Human Rights Officer, Captain Gon Erez, said that handcuffing is in accordance with military police commander Instruction No. 9810 concerning "Shackling with Handcuffs - Security Detainees." It states that they're used to:
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