Newly-released reports from the Public Defender’s Office of the Justice Ministry allege that Palestinian inmates of Israeli prisons were subjected to regular abuse.
The documents were released after a year-long legal battle between the department and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), after the ministry refused to fulfill the group's freedom of information request.
Per the reports, inspectors from the Public Defenders' Office found unsatisfactory treatment of prisoners at four sites in 2024.
The officials found that one prison was "not fit to hold human beings" and that, at another, "unnecessary and unjustified violence against prisoners" occurred "on a regular basis".
Inspectors reported prisoners complained about the use of clubs by prison officers during "special searches" and the employment of "painful and humiliating stress postures" in Ketziot prison.
"The prisoners we met were very thin, some extremely and pathologically thin, and they showed us distinctly protruding ribs and pelvises and excessive skin demonstrating drastic weight loss," they went on.
And they raised concerns over prison hygiene, documenting reports of mite infestations and cell overcrowding.
However, no specific criminal allegations were included, as inspectors outline such details in confidential reports to the Attorney General's Office, which have not been released.
Inspectors also noted that they were “impressed” by improvements in certain areas during subsequent visits to some of the sites in question, though not all of the issues they raised were addressed during the inspection period.
The reports also did not feature comparisons with the conditions in the general prison population in Israel, making observations only in regard to security prisoners held in detention facilities.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Prison Service said that it works to “combat all forms of violence by prison guards,” and that “all reports of violence will be thoroughly investigated”.
Prison commanders have denied that the use of violence against prisoners is widespread and insisted there are "no gaps" in the provision of sanitation or food.
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