September 7, 1999
September 7, 1999
Contact HRF Communications (212) 845 5245 media@humanrightsfirst.org
Israeli Supreme Court Decision Outlawing Physical Pressure in Interrogation
is a Landmark Ruling in the Global Struggle to Eradicate Torture
New York, September 7, 1999: Human Rights First welcomes yesterday’s unanimous decision of nine justices of the Israeli Supreme Court that the General Security Service (GSS) is not authorized to use interrogation techniques involving the use of physical pressure against a suspect.
For years the Israeli government had argued that the special circumstances faced by Israel, whose citizens have frequently been the victims of violent attacks, made it necessary to employ what was euphemistically referred to as "moderate physical pressure" in interrogating terrorist suspects. The interrogation methods employed by the GSS, such as shaking and hooding, were condemned as forms of torture by the U.N. Committee Against Torture and many other international bodies. These methods sometimes resulted in the death of detainees.
"The Court’s decision reaffirms the absolute prohibition on the use of torture in international human rights standards," said Michael Posner, Executive Director of Human Rights First. "Many countries face the threat of violent attacks against civilians today, but exceptional circumstances should never be invoked to justify the use of coercive means of interrogation. If we let the threat of violence dictate the methods of interrogation, this seriously undermines the rule of law," said Michael Posner. "The Israeli Supreme Court has made a ruling consistent with international law, which strengthens the protection of human rights for everyone in Israel."
The ruling is a victory for activists and lawyers in Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations who have worked for decades to prevent torture in Israeli detention centers. Human Rights First had repeatedly called on successive Israeli governments to discontinue these practices.