Human rights worker Ayman Lubbad is among the Palestinian prisoners claiming abuse in Israeli custody, where six have died.
The Gaza-based human rights activist Ayman Lubbad has not seen his wife and three children for more than a month, since he was ordered to strip to his underwear in the street outside his home, then driven away with other Palestinian men for a week of abuse and detention.
He was tortured and humiliated, he said, giving one of various accounts of recent Israeli abuse of Palestinians in detention; at least six have died, and one autopsy report showed serious injuries, Haaretz newspaper reported.
Hundreds of Gaza residents detained in Israel’s military campaign have faced torture methods including electric shocks, cigarette and lighter burns, stress positions and deprivation of sleep, food and toilet facilities, investigations by Reuters and +972 magazine found.
The Israel Defense Forces have said all allegations of improper conduct in detention facilities are thoroughly investigated, and that suspects strip-searched for security reasons during arrest should be allowed to dress again before being taken into custody.
When Lubbad was released without charge, it was in Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, while his family are still at their home in northern Beit Lahia.
Lubbad, who works at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, recognised himself in some of the photos. Other civilian detainees identified by friends, family and employers included a young teenager, a man in his 70s and a well-known journalist.
As the men waited some soldiers opened fire, injuring a young man’s hand, while others humiliated their captives and destroyed homes, Lubbad said.
“The Israeli soldiers photographed us inappropriately and compelled some of the detained boys to dance. They set fire to the homes of the Muqayd, Mahdi, Kahlot and Sorour families in front of us while we were seated in the street,” he said in a statement about his captivity.
Rawr
Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/21/gaza-activist-tells-of-beating-and-abuse-in-israeli-detention