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17.
Detention Centres
According to the
Law of Reformation and Rehabilitation Centers # 6 of the year 1998, which
was approved by President of the PA, the word “prison” is to mean “all
those places organised in accordance with this law. A Director-General is
to be appointed to such established places by a decision from the Minister
of Interior.”
In an interview
with the PHRMG, Colonel Hamdi al-Rifi - as General Director of Prisons -
has stated that the responsibility of his general administration includes
the following six major prisons:
Gaza Central
Prison, Nablus Central Prison, Hebron (Dhahria), Ramallah, Jenin and
Jericho.
Thus, all other
centres such as Bethlehem and Tulkarem, used for arrest and detention do
not fall under his responsibility.
A.
Prisons and Detention Centers in the Gaza Strip
1.
Gaza Central Prison “al-Saraya”
This prison is situated in
the middle of Gaza City in Omar al-Mukhtar and al-Wihda streets. Its
Director is Lieutenant Basel al-Sheikh. It consists of one big old
building that was used by Israel as a prison before the Oslo Peace
Agreement. The PA has expanded it and built extensions to the main
building. It is the main prison in the Gaza Strip. It includes offices for
the different security services and has a hall that is used as a court in
which the Military and State Security Courts are convened.
Each security
service has its own detention cells and operates independently of the
other security services.
There are currently
a total of 328 prisoners in al-Saraya, a figure that includes 37 political
detainees (mainly from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad), 37 “security
detainees charged with collaboration with Israel” and 122 detainees
apprehended on criminal charges.
2. The Preventive
Security Prison “Tal el-Hawa”
This prison was
built two years after the formation of the PA. It is located on a large
piece of land and functions independently of other security services. It
has all the facilities to serve its purpose. There are many detainees in
this new prison, most of them from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. There are
also some prisoners detained by the Preventive Security at al-Saraya
prison in Central Gaza, but it is the PS that decides when to release
“its” prisoners. The Preventive Security has its own Executive Squad that
has its special uniform and carries out special tasks.
There
are other security services with different responsibilities such as the
Navy Police, the Civil Defense and the National Security.
All the above
mentioned security services in most cases detain and release people
without presenting them before courts.
3.
Ansar
This is a military
site that was used by Israel to detain Palestinians. The PA ran it as a
military base where Palestinian soldiers could meet, train and get their
vehicles and equipment maintained and changed.
B. Detention Centers
in the West Bank
1. Jericho
a) The Central
Prison
Known
as
“al-Mukata’a”,
it lies at the entrance to Jericho City. It was established during the
British mandate over Palestine. Jordan and Israel also used it as a
military site. After the coming of the PA, the prison was divided into
different sections:
- General
Investigation: this deals with security prisoners (collaborators).
- General
Intelligence: this deals with political prisoners.
- Force 17: this
deals with the President’s safety when he visits Jericho.
- Military
Collaboration: this department collaborates with the Israelis.
- National Security:
this protects the city by setting up checkpoints nearby.
The central prison
in Jericho consists of one big building with two floors. It is considered
a military and security compound. The prison conditions in it are not very
bad. Prisoners have access to radios and television sets. There are
cleaning and shower facilities and a fridge.
b)
The General Intelligence Interrogation Center
This was established
in Jericho 3 or 4 years ago. It consists of two floors, the upper one
being used as offices for senior officers of the Intelligence Service,
whilst and the lower one is used to house interrogation rooms and a
prison. After a prisoner has given his confession or his interrogation is
over, he remains in this building for a month or so before being
transferred to Jericho Central Prison.
c) The Preventive
Security Interrogation Center
Was established
during the Israeli occupation. Is located near the Jericho rest-house.
a)
The Police Service
Palestinian Police Headquarters are in the centre of Gaza City, near
al-Azhar University. It is divided into different sections: the criminal
police, the Anti-Drugs Unit, the special force and the police security
unit. The police compound contains a prison win which many leaders of the
Islamic movement were detained such as Dr. Rantisi, Dr. Makadmeh and Osama
Hammad. In the past, the criminal police headed by Colonel Talal Abu-Zeid,
arrested many journalists and human rights activists. This created a
dispute since those arrests were not the responsibility of the criminal
police. The death penalty imposed on the Abu-Sultan brothers was carried
out in this prison. There are many police stations scattered all over Gaza
Strip.
The Police service
supervises and monitors all detainees who enter the
main prison
(al-Saraya)
from other security services.
b)
The General
Intelligence Service
This
is a central security service which until recently occupied part of the
main security compound
(al-Saraya).
It has recently been
announced that this service has built a spacious new compound on Gaza
beach in an area known as
Sudaniya. The
General Intelligence keeps tens of detainees, especially from Hamas and
the Islamic Jihad, at al-Saraya.
This service also has its own cells inside the prison and maintains its
own administration. It also has different sections such as the Special
Force and the Anti-Collaboration Unit.
There are mainly
three sections: A, B & C where prisoners of the GI are kept. All are
detained underground. In Section A, the food and treatment of prisoners is
very bad.
They provide food in
a plastic dish that is pushed underneath the door of the cell. An average
meal consists of two pieces of bread and one tomato.
Section B is known
as the slaughter place, where Israel used to detain active Palestinians.
It consists of four rooms divided by a narrow corridor where prisoners
were tortured.
c)
The Military
Intelligence Service
This is also located
in the al-Saraya security compound. This security service is considered
mysterious. It is where ordinary civilians, such as Farouk Abu-Hassan, are
detained. Notwithstanding a Presidential order which decreed that given
that it was not its responsibility, this service should not detain
civilians, it continues to arrest civilians.
The PA has added
more rooms to the site. Most of the prisoners kept in this detention
center are political. It has three interrogation sections.
Section A has cells
separated from other prisoners, with no water or electricity in them. They
are seven cells, used mainly for torturing prisoners. They are very small
(1.2x3m) and full of insects.
Section B has six
cells, less tough than those in Section A. There is no water or
electricity. There is a bottle for personal hygiene.
Section C has 11 cells on both sides of a narrow corridor, with one source
of water which does not function most of the time. Cells have metal doors.
Concerning hygiene,
there is no water available for washing. If a prisoner is lucky, he may
take one shower every week using cold water. The cells have to be cleaned
only once every week by the prisoners themselves. This encourages insects
and pests to enter the cells, specially in summer time.
Concerning food,
there is sufficient
quantity but bad quality. It normally consists of 4 lentils meals every
week, 6 eggs every week, chicken twice a week, cheese 3 times a week and
fruit 3 times a week.
Concerning health
care, during his first days in prison (i.e. during interrogation), the
prisoner cannot use a mattress or a blanket to sleep. This may continue
for a week.
The doctor visits
prisons twice weekly to check on the sick. There is no clinic in the
prison. Medication is brought by families when they visit. Family visits
are authorized according to the mood of the Prison Director and last for
30-60 minutes in the presence of a guard.
2. Hebron
a)
Central Prison
Hebron’s central
prison is divided into four sections (A, B, C & D). Each section contains
9 rooms 3x4m in size. Since the coming of the PA, it has been used as a
prison in the following way:
(i) 6-7 rooms
are used as offices for senior security officials.
(ii)
National Security has occupied the
administration building used by Israel.
(iii)
Preventive Security has occupied
section D and is using 7 rooms in that section as offices. The remaining
two rooms are used for
detaining and
interrogating prisoners.
New cells: each has
a space of 1x1.7m with a toilet in it made
of metal. Each cell
has a heavy door, used during interrogation.
Old
cells:
each has a
space of 1x2m with a toilet and were used by the Israelis to interrogate
Palestinians. They have been restructured by the PA. During interrogation,
certain detainees are put in isolated underground cells, with no lighting
and with hardly any ventilation.
(iv)
Military Intelligence has occupied
section B, is using 6 rooms as offices and two as cells for interrogation
and detention.
(v)
General Intelligence uses section A as
its offices and detention rooms.
(vi)
The Police Service uses 10 rooms: 8
are used as offices, one for
arrest and one for
interrogation.
Food in the central
prison is the same as the food provided for the soldiers. Each security
service gets its monthly allowance of food for its staff and detainees. It
normally includes beef, fruit and vegetables, sugar, tea and coffee.
Prisoners are forced
to work for 8 hours in building work and cleaning inside the prison.
b) Dhahria Prison
This prison was
established during the British mandate and was used as a military base and
prison for detaining and torturing revolutionaries.
Jordan used it as a
police station and stable for their horses. When Israel took over rule of
the city, it renovated it and it became one of the biggest prisons under
Israeli occupation. At one time the total number of Palestinian prisoners
in it reached 1500.
In
1998, the PA took over responsibility of the city, including the prison.
It is now used as a detention center, containing about 25 criminal and
political detainees. Other tents within the compound are used for training
military personnel.
c)
Al-Haras
Police
Station
There are 8 rooms in
this center, 6 of them used as offices for senior officials, one room for
answering complaints and one room - with a heavy iron door - for
apprehension.
It
also has 3 rooms, 3X4m in size, with a toilet and without ventilation.
These three rooms have a very bad smell. Prisoners normally remain for two
months in these rooms before being taken to Hebron Central Prison.
3. Bethlehem
a)
The Central
(al-Mikata’a) Prison
This is a security
compound where different security services have offices and detention
rooms. During Jordanian rule it was called (al-Bassa) and used as a prison
and military site. Under Israeli rule it was used as a military camp and
contained security administration rooms. It did not have a bad reputation.
There was no reported torture and prisoners did not remain in it for a
long time: instead they were transferred to other bigger prisons.
When the PA took
over, it undertook renovations. It now contains security offices and
detention rooms.
The
Preventive Security has 4 rooms in the compound, 3 of them serving as
offices and one as a detention room, described as new and clean.
There are 7 cells in
the compound, each 1.5x2.5m in size, with no lighting. The Police Service
is the largest service in the compound and occupies a large part of the
building under the authority of General Abu-Zeid. Many other rooms are
used as offices and the big hall is used for soldiers to sleep.
4. Tulkarem
a)
The Central
al-Mukata’a Prison
This was established
by the British and used as a military camp. Jordan used it as a detention
center. Israel expanded it and used it to detain Palestinians.
After the PA took
over, the central prison was divided into:
(i) The Police
Section, which is the largest and has responsibility over political,
security and civilian detainees,
(ii) The General
Intelligence Section, which plays a major role in detention and
investigation.
(iii) The
Preventive Security.
(iv) The National
Security.
(v) The Military
Intelligence.
(vi) Force 17
Service.
(vii) Medical
Military services.
Detaining a prisoner
starts with taking him into a small room. There he is handled by the
police service. Prisoners are then kept in 5 rooms that can hold up to 70
detainees. In each room there is a toilet and there is one courtyard for
the “break”. Family visits are arranged once every week, with three
relatives for every prisoner being able to visit him for half an hour
maximum.
At the beginning of
the 2000, the central prison was separated from the general administration
of prisons and became a Police Station for Tulkarem District.
Conditions inside
the prison are not bad. Prisoners can wash and shave twice a week. They
are responsible for cleaning the rooms. Food is provided three times every
day in small quantities. Breakfast consists of beans of cheese. Lunch is
similar to what the soldiers eat and dinner is beans or cheese. Fruit is
provided twice a week and families can bring in whatever food they want to
give to the prisoners. There are about 35-40 prisoners in this prison.
5. Nablus
a)
Nablus Central
Prison
Officially this
prison is called “Nablus Reformation and Rehabilitation Center” and lies
to the east of the city. It is a very old prison established in the
Ottoman period. The British used it as stables for their horses, whilst
Jordan used it as a military base. Israel used it as a central prison for
the northern part of the West Bank. It had 17 rooms of different sizes and
could take 32 prisoners in each room.
The PA took over in
1995 and continues to use it as a central prison, with different sections
used by the different security services.
(i) General
Intelligence arrests political detainees and interrogates them.
(ii) Military
Intelligence arrests criminal and security detainees and
interrogates
them.
(iii) Police Special
Squad fights violence and demonstrations and guards
the prison.
The PA has recently
expanded the prison and added the following:
- A small library
used by soldiers and detainees.
- A workshop and a
blacksmiths where security prisoners are forced to work.
- A public telephone
for civilian prisoners.
- A “clinic” and a
“dental surgery” (just by the name, as they lack the basic medical
facilities).
The prison’s
conditions are as follows. Each room has a toilet facility. The rooms can
take a total of 170 prisoners. There are 8 rooms, with one for women and
teenagers. One of the rooms is underground and can hold 8-10 detainees. It
has no running water and is not ventilated. Political detainees do not
remain in this prison for long periods of time, as they are transferred to
Juneid prison. Hygiene is not very good and detainees do all the cleaning.
Food is provided in dishes that are washed with water between meals. It
lacks many essentials such as salt.
b)
Juneid Prison
This prison takes
its name from the Palestinian village of Juneid, 6 kms to the West of
Nablus in the north of the West Bank. It is surrounded by the villages of
Beit-Wazen, Rafidia and Sarra. Others say it was named after the Sheikh
Abu-Al-Qasem al-Juneidi.
Jordan started to
build it as a military hospital, but when Israel took over the authorities
changed it into a major prison. It remained under Israeli rule for more
than 28 years, from 6 June 1967 to 12 December 1995. The later date is the
date when the PA took over responsibility.
After the coming of
the PA, the prison included sections for the different security services:
- Joint
Patrols, responsible for the coordination with Israel.
-
Navy Police, in charge of guarding the
prison and preventing violence.
-
Force 17, responsible for protecting
the President and guarding the
prisoners.
-
Preventive Security, responsible for detaining and interrogating
prisoners.
- The
Scientific Committee, responsible for fixing weapons and equipment.
- Military
medical services, which looks after the safety of soldiers and prisoners
alike and consists of two doctors and limited medication.
- The Office
for the Political and Moral Guidance Officer.
The prison’s
conditions are as follows. Rooms in the prison are divided into two
sections: one that has 12 rooms with different sizes and another that has
7 rooms, also with various sizes. There are at present about 50 detainees
in those rooms.
Food and cleanliness
(including the management of materials and facilities) are the
responsibility of the prisoners. Families are allowed to bring in food for
their sons. Detainees are allowed to read papers in the “break” and
student detainees can see their tutors in the “break” if they wish to do
so.
6. Jenin
The Central Prison
This
was established under the British mandate after about 200 hundred dunums
were confiscated from the neighboring Arab lands to build this spacious
prison. Jordan then took it over for a short period of time, before the
Israeli occupation took place in 1967. Israel used it to detain
Palestinian activists and divided it into various sections, including
administration offices, interrogation rooms and cells for solitary
confinement. It has
three main parts, each with it own courtyard for the “break” and each with
a capacity of 240 prisoners.
After the peace
agreements, the PA took control of the prison and divided it up for use by
the different security services:
- General
Intelligence, responsible for security matters and interrogating
civilians.
-
Preventive Security, in charge of detaining and arresting people.
- Force 17,
responsible for the security of the President and at times for the
detention of individuals.
- National
Security, specializing in military matters and protecting the city.
- Military
Intelligence, detaining security prisoners.
Prisoners detained
for long periods of time are normally transferred to Jericho, Juneid or
Ramallah. Food is served from the same meals as the soldiers. It consists
of beans or cheese, jam or eggs in the morning and evening and some rice
and meat with fruit for lunch. Hygene is the detainees’ responsibility.
Visits are regular, but largely depend on the mood of the officer in
charge.
7. Ramallah
Ramallah Prison (al-Mukata’a)
This prison was
established by the British in order to detain revolutionaries. Jordan used
it as a military base. Israel used it as a prison for arresting
Palestinian activists.
After the coming of
the PA the prison was transformed into a security compound that was
divided into different sections to accommodate the different security
services.
- General
Intelligence, responsible for security matters and arresting political
activists from opposition groups.
- Military
Intelligence, responsible for security prisoners (collaborators with
Israel)
- National
Security, responsible for protecting the city of Ramallah by setting up
checkpoints in the streets.
- Military
Collaboration, specializing in coordination with Israel.
This prison is
considered as the principle site for detaining security prisoners from all
the districts of the West Bank. It is also considered important because
the Presidential plane lands in it when the President arrives in the West
Bank. The Presidential guard surrounds the area whenever the President is
in Ramallah.
The prisons’
conditions are as follows. Food is bad in quality and quantity. For
breakfast and dinner prisoners are given beans, lentils or eggs. For lunch
they get bad quality meat and some rice. Family visits are allowed twice a
week on Mondays and Fridays. During those visits families may give
prisoners money, food, clothes or cleaning materials. The detainees are
responsible for their own hygiene. They also forced to clean the rooms of
the soldiers.
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