DEATHS IN CUSTODY PUT SPOTLIGHT ON WEST BANK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001605 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA; NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR; JOINT STAFF FOR LTGEN SELVA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2019 TAGS: PTER PINS PGOV MOPS ASEC PHUM KWBG IS SUBJECT: DEATHS IN CUSTODY PUT SPOTLIGHT ON WEST BANK PRISONER ISSUES REF: A. JERUSALEM 1013 ¶B. JERUSALEM 1516 Classified By: Acting Principal Officer Greg Marchese for reasons 1.4 (b,d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Summary: The deaths of four Hamas-affiliated detainees held by PA security services since the start of 2009 has focused a spotlight on PA detention practices. Senior PA officials also express concerns about conditions in general-population prisons, noting that the PA's correctional system has inadequate capacity to partner effectively with increasingly-capable PA security services. End summary. Four 2009 Detainee Deaths Raise Questions -------------- ¶2. (C) The death of four Hamas-affiliated detainees in PA custody in 2009 has raised questions inside the PA and outside about detention practices. Internal PA investigations concluded that two of the deaths (Mohammed al-Haj, who died in Preventive Security Organization (PSO) custody on February 8, and Fadi Hamadneh, who died in General Intelligence (GI) custody on August 10) were suicides by hanging. PA investigators attributed the death of Majd al Bargouthi, who died in GI custody on February 24, to heart failure; an ad-hoc committee of made up of Palestinian Legislative Council members later held GI officials responsible. In the case of Haitham Amre, who died in GI custody on June 15, PA investigators concluded that Amre died following severe beatings. (As reported in Ref A, GI officials initially claimed that Amre died following a fall from a third-story building during an escape attempt.) ¶3. (C) Senior PA officials reacted strongly to Amre's death. As reported in Ref B, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told Post on August 19 that "we cannot accept the abuse or torture of people. It is a question of morality, not politics." According to GI official Mansour Ebwaini, members of the Hebron GI team responsible for interrogating Amre were suspended following the incident; Attorney General Ahmed Mughani informed Post that autopsy reports showing evidence of torture had been passed to the military prosecutor's office for action. On August 20, Minister of Interior Said Abu Ali issued new guidance for prisoner treatment, mandating that security forces "shall not exercise or allow any physical or psychological punishment against detainees," and "shall refrain from participating in any form of torture." ¶4. (C) Abu Ali noted on August 20 that Abu Mazen and Fayyad had formed a committee under the authority of the MOI tasked with visiting PA detention facilities, interrogation centers, and prisons, to observe conditions. "In general," he said, we face shortcomings and challenges with regard to torture." Abu Ali noted that the PA also faced shortcomings in the general prison sector. "In the West Bank, we have seven prisons," he said, "with a capacity of about 700. But now we have probably more than 1000 in those facilities. We need larger facilities, and more facilities. The challenge is that as we continue working on security and law enforcement, we can't wait for prisons. We've rented some facilities, and converted others. It doesn't live up to standards. But we have to do what we can." Prison Conditions Overall Pose Risk of Abuse -------------- ¶5. (C) Senior PA justice officials agreed that conditions in general-population prisons operated by the MOI are worsening, as stepped-up security campaigns over-tax an already-crowded correctional system. Chief Justice Issa Abu Sharar on September 2 identified prison capacity as "the most pressing and urgent" need in the Palestinian justice sector, saying "in every prison we have the problem of overcrowding." Minister of Justice Ali Khashan noted that "lots of people criticize us -- they ask, "why do you put people in temporary (facilities) that aren't adequate? The answer is that we don't have places for them (in the prisons). Israel destroyed all the prisons during the second intifada. These prisons were essential for the justice sector, for rule of law." ¶6. (C) Attorney General Mughani noted that the overcrowding had a knock-on effect on the rest of the justice system, with JERUSALEM 00001605 002 OF 002 prosecutors reluctant to appeal judicial release orders for prisoners held in sub-standard conditions. Mughani said that the Ramallah prison, built to a maximum capacity of 170, currently holds 280 prisoners. "The prisons in Ramallah and Bethlehem are not suitable for animals," he said, citing the Bethlehem facility's proximity to a sewage treatment plant. "There is no intent to torture, but these places are torturing prisoners." Detainee Issues Prone to Politicization -------------- ¶7. (C) Hamas spokesmen have repeatedly criticized PA detention practices, linking the deaths of four Hamas-affiliated prisoners in PA custody this year to Hamas's contention that more than 800 Hamas affiliates currently in PA custody are "political prisoners" held without legal basis. Human rights organizations have also spoken out critically, but appear to have found allies in the PA leadership -- Minister of Justice Ali Khashan noted proudly on September 2 that when a local human rights group, al Haq, requested an outside forensic assessment of the PA autopsy conducted into the August 10 death of Fadi Hamadneh, MOJ accomodated the request, and the European expert brought in by al Haq later "sent a letter thanking the MOJ (forensic) team" which conducted the original autopsy for the integrity of its work. MARCHESE