From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 01 Oct 92 10:04 PDT
Subject: ILL-TREATMENT IN ISRAEL/OCCUPIED TE
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700569:000:4511
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Oct  1 10:04:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: ILL-TREATMENT IN ISRAEL/OCCUPIED TE

/* Written 11:14 am  Oct  1, 1992 by gn:geonet in cdp:omct.sostortur */

Case ISR/PAL 230992 . B
Follow-up of Case ISR/PAL 230992
The Secretariat has received fresh information about the case of Mr.
Ahmad Sleeman Musa QATTAMSH for whom we asked you to intervene in our
appeal ISR/PAL 230992 dated 23 September 1992 and sent on behalf of
Antenna International.
Brief reminder of the situation:
In our earlier appeal we informed you that Mr. Ahmad Sleeman Musa
QATTAMSH, aged 42, from Al-Bireh, had been arrested from his home on
1 September 1992 and taken to Ramallah Investigation Section.  On 10
September 1992 he appeared before Ramallah Court where he was refused
bail.  His lawyer and family were refused entry to the Court.
Following this hearing his lawyer had succeeded in obtaining a copy
of the court transcript in which Mr. QATTAMSH reportedly told the
judge of the severe ill-treatment to which he had been subjected.
This included sleep deprivation, concentrated psychological pressure
and the use of the shabah.  As a result of this maltreatment he was
apparently suffering from breathing difficulties and on two occasions
had even fainted.  On 17 September he was once again brought before
the court where his incommunicado detention was extended for a
further 30 days.
Recent information:
According to the most recent information received from AL-HAQ, a
member of our network, since the time of his arrest Mr. QATTAMSH's
health has progressively deteriorated.  In addition to the serious
sleep deprivation from which he is suffering, he is interrogated
round the clock on a 24-hour basis, he has apparently been forced
into unnatural positions and threats have been made against his life
and that of his family.  In an affidavit released by his lawyer on 24
September 1992, the latter is reported to have declared that Mr.
QATTAMSH "looked extremely tired, his face was ashen, he was shaking,
his eyes were bloodshot and that the area beneath his eyes appeared
blackened".  In addition, Mr. QATTAMSH has reportedly said that he is
suffering from severe stomach and head pains and that he has
difficulty breathing. According to the information, he has been
denied urgently needed medical care despite the fact that his
interrogators, one of whom is known to him only as "SHAWQI", are
fully aware of his health problems.
On 24 September, the threats against other members of his family were
carried out when his wife, Suha Darwish Ab'd-al-Malik al-Barghouti
was arrested and held overnight at the Russian Compound Detention
Centre in Jerusalem, two days after organising a press conference in
Jerusalem to publicise her husband's detention and torture.  During
this time, she was interrogated by two men who identified themselves
as Captain MAGDI and SHAWQI - the name of the latter corresponds to
that given independently by her husband.  She was kept in a filthy
cell and vomited several times in the night.  According to the
information she was hooded on a number of occasions and on the
morning of 25 September she lost consciousness and had to be given
oxygen by a prison doctor.  Mrs. Barghouti was finally released
during the afternoon of 25 September
Remarks:
In the light of the considerable deterioration of the situation of
Mr. Ahmad Sleeman Musa QATTAMSH, we call upon you to keep writing to
the authorities in Israel and the Occupied Territories to demand that
they put an end to the ill-treatment and torture to which he is being
subjected to and demand that they provide him with the urgently need
medical assistance. Insist that they ensure the respect for his
physical and psychological integrity as well as those of his wife and
family at all times and that they put an end to the persecution of
family members. Demand that he be released if no charges can be
brought against him.  In the event that charges can be brought insist
that he be tried before a fair and impartial tribunal and that he be
given access to legal counsel of his own choice. Exhort the
authorities to open a thorough and impartial inquiry into the
ill-treatment and torture to which both Mr. Ahmad Sleeman Musa
QATTAMSH and his wife have been subjected in order to identify those
responsible and punish them in accordance with the law. Urge them to
ensure the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
country at all times in accordance with international standards.

Geneva, 30 September 1992
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