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Suhail Abu al-Ata complained in the December 17th
press conference that he and other
detainees were forced to strip and salute an army
officer, and later to kiss each others
buttocks. They were deprived of food for three
days and forced to sleep in the open. He
said conditions in early December improved after
a visit by Red Cross representatives.
Israeli newspapers have been more successful than
Palestinian papers in getting stories
about the abuse of detainees in Aansar 2 past the
censor. Al Hamishmar daily interviewed
one detainee from Ansar 2 whose experience so
terrified and humiliate him that he
insisted in anonymity. This particular story has
been reprinted in other accounts of Ansar 2
as an example of the sadistic behavior of the
soldiers toward the youth.
“they stripped us of everything but our
underwear. Five soldiers opened the window s and
for 10-15 minutes beat my friend while I was
waiting for my turn. They bet him on all parts of
his body, with their fists, clubs and the butts
of their guns, and they also kicked him. When
they finished beating him, they forced him to
insert a cucumber into his anus. They
pressured him into forcing it into the end. After
that a soldier hit me in the face, and punched
me in my genitals. He passed me to the five
soldiers who were beating my friend. I refused
to insert the cucumber in my rear like my friend.
They got angry and beat me severely.
There is no estimate the psychological damage for
young boys exposed to such calculated
brutality.
” We, as lawyers, see bad treatment toward the
detainees, “ said Mohammed Abu
Shabban. But much of the ill treatment is not
visible to the few lawyers allowed to visit the
detainees or the infrequent visits of the Red
Cross. “Many of the boys are crying in court,”
said one lawyer who defends political detainees.
“Once a judge demanded from a boy
“Why are you crying?’ What can you say to him?”
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