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I was savagely beaten without knowing the reason.

The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) once again highlights the issue of human rights abuses by the Western backed Palestinian Authority in the Occupied West Bank. It seems to Intelligence blasphemy was like breathing oxygen.

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 To mark the 61st anniversary of international human rights day (following the Universal Declaration of  Human Rights December 10, 1948. The Middle East Monitor (MEMO) once again highlights the issue of human rights abuses by the Western backed Palestinian Authority in the Occupied West Bank. Despite concerns raised by MEMO and several respected human rights organizations this exclusive account from our West Bank correspondent Khalid Amayreh confirms that these practices persist. The US Security Coordinator in the territories General Keith Dayton and EU Police Corps have previously denied the involvement of the civil police in the abuse; noting that these may have taken place at the hands of the security and intelligence apparatus.

This story raises more disturbing questions about EU and British support, tacit or otherwise, for the actions of the Ramallah authority.

Despite repeated assurances from the Palestinian Authority (PA), that torture has been outlawed in PA interrogation and incarceration facilities, stories of physical and psychological abuse continue to surface in the West Bank. This raises serious questions about the credibility of undertakings made by the PA to local and international human rights organizations operating in the occupied territories.

The following is an accurate translation of a written testimony by Kanaan Mustafa Said Shatat from the village of Bidya in the Salfit District.

Shatat spoke personally to this writer on Tuesday 8 December, recounting the horrible ill-treatment he had been meted out by members of the Palestinian General Intelligence last month.

His graphic account underscores the rampant mayhem still permeating through the PA security apparatus. It also reveals that the PA government is quite slack in enforcing its own laws on various security agencies operating under the PA rubric in the West Bank.

 

"My name is Kanaan Mustafa Said Shatat from the village of Bidya in the Salfit District. On Monday, 9 November, while   I was at al-Noor pharmacy at around 7:30 pm, two officers from the General Intelligence in the Salfit Governorate stormed the pharmacy.

The two officers, Mahmoud Mustafa Mahmoud Kanaan 40 from Bidya and Sofyan Abdul Rahman Kamel al Dalew 30 from Bidya, stormed the drug store; they attacked me savagely, beating me with their fists all over my body before they dragged me outside in a violent and savage manner. Then the two resumed beating me in the face and head. Outside the drug store, there was a police patrol whose members helped the two officers force me into a blue vehicle belonging to the Intelligence. The pair took me to the police station at Bidya.

There, the police frisked me, took my Identity card and placed me alone in one room. At that time, I heard my father's voice, enquiring about me. The police chief told my father that I was not there, which forced me to scream to  my dad to tell him that they were lying to him. Then, the police opened the door, with one officer telling me not to speak a word, and that I was a troublemaker. I told him I was not a troublemaker and that I really did not know why I was being detained, especially since no arrest warrant had been issued against me.

The police chief told me that an Intelligence car would come to pick me up soon and that the Police were going to hand me over to the Intelligence based on their request. I asked him why they were going to hand me over to the Intelligence. He said because the Intelligence wanted to question me on certain issues.

About half an hour later, Intelligence officers took me to their local headquarters where I was ordered into a small room in the entrance of the building.

Soon afterward, approximately ten intelligence officers stormed the small chamber, ganged up on me and started beating me ferociously. The assault lasted for ten minutes and caused deep cuts in my skull, another one behind my right ear as well as bleeding from my head, lips and teeth. The beating was so harsh that I could barely stand on my feet. Then I was taken to the interrogation office while I was still bleeding. They started questioning me alleging that I had threatened two intelligence officers (Mahmoud Mustafa Kanaan and Hasan al Akraa). When I denied the charges, they asked me to wash the blood away.

 

They actually led me to the washbasin, as I was too frail to walk on my feet on my own. Then they took me to another interrogation room. However, as they failed to prove the charges against me, Intelligence chief, Mohammed Abdul Hamid, Abu al Abed, entered the room, accompanied by several officers. He asked me about the charges and I answered that I was innocent. Then the chief himself started beating me and again I started bleeding.

 An hour later, they took me to the local clinic in Bidya where my cuts were stitched. Taking me back to the Intelligence center, the chief told me that I would remain indefinitely in their custody. On November 15, the sixth day of my incarceration, they asked me to fill in a form stating my name, my social status, my political affiliation and which political party I voted for in the past elections. They also asked me why the Israelis arrested me in 2005. I signed the affidavit, which also included my denial of the charges.

 I was then taken to the office of the military prosecutor in Salfit, Yafi Marayta. There I was asked to state my name, political affiliation, and the charges leveled against me. Marayta warned me that if he found out that the charges were genuine, he would show me what he would do to me!

Then he extended my detention for 15 more days. As I was being led to the military prosecutor's office, I heard an intelligence officer, named Zayed, tell the military prosecutor the following: "I've brought you a Hamas detainee in our custody. He is stubborn, teach him good manners! Then Marayta said, "Don't worry."

Afterwards, I was taken to the Salfit police center where I remained incarcerated for 11 more days until I was released on bail on 26 November.

I am a civilian who is totally innocent of the charges leveled against me. In fact, the Intelligence apparatus was not satisfied with beating, humiliating and torturing me, they contacted my employer, the Palestinian Telecommunication Company, demanding that they fire me from my job, apparently in order to impoverish my family and me. Fortunately, the company did not succumb to their blackmailing tactic. I really do not know what will happen to me next concerning the charges against me and about my job.

Signature: Kanaan Shatat,

Final note: "From the first moment of my abduction from the Noor pharmacy on 9 November, 2009, until I was transferred to the police headquarters in Salfit, the Intelligence officers accompanying me continued abusing and cursing me all day every day. It seemed that to Intelligence blasphemy was like breathing oxygen."

 

Source:

http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com