2 May 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, a member of the OMCT network, of the incommunicado detention and lengthy denial of access to legal counsel and ill-treatment of Mr. Iman Shukri Abdl Rahman Jamjum.
According to the information received, Iman Shukri Abdl Rahman Jamjum, a student from Hebron, was held in isolation for twenty-two days, without access to legal counsel. Mr. Jamjum was arrested on April 4th, 2003, and has reportedly been held in the GSS Interrogation Unit at the Shikma Detention Center in Ashkelon.
On April 7th, 2003, Mr. Jamjum’s detention was extended by 30 days. Mr. Jamjum was not represented by legal council at this hearing. When Mr. Jamjum’s mother appointed Attorney Andre Rosenthal to represent him on April 9th, 2003 an Order Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel, valid through April 14th, 2003, was issued.
On April 14th, 2003, the day the Order expired, the Order was extended to April 17th, 2003. On that same day Attorney Andre Rosenthal reportedly filed an urgent petition to the High Court of Justice, on Mr. Jamjum’s behalf, requesting that the Order be lifted. This petition was rejected, and the Order Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel was extended through April 24th, 2003.
According to the information received Mr. Jamjum was finally able to meet with his attorney at the Shikma Detention Center on April 28th, 2003. In a sworn affidavit Mr. Jamjum described the conditions of his detention. He is reportedly sharing a windowless cell with nine other detainees. There are not enough mattresses for all of the detainees and the smell of the cell, where the detainees are forced to take their meals, is terrible. Mr. Jamjum is not allowed a daily walk outdoors.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Jamjum, given the fact that he has been held incommunicado and continues to be detained in conditions that constitute ill-treatment.
OMCT calls on the Israeli authorities to order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges, and if such charges exist, to ensure that he is given a prompt and fair trial, in which his procedural rights are guaranteed at all times. OMCT also urges the authorities to guarantee that he is granted regular and adequate access to legal representation and family visits should he continue to be detained.
More generally, OMCT is gravely concerned by the increasing tendency of the Israeli Government to make use of incommunicado detention through the issuing of Orders Prohibiting Meeting with Counsel, as this represents a violation of the detainees� rights under international law.
OMCT recalls that such methods gives rise to grave concerns for the detainees� personal integrity, as they run a heightened risk of being subjected to ill-treatment and/or torture when all contact with the outside world has been blocked.
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