High Court orders notorious Sde Teiman detention facility to abide by law, but doesn’t order its closure

The High Court of Justice rules in favor of a petition demanding that the state abide by the law for detaining Palestinian terror suspects in the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility, but does not order the government to shut it down as the petitioners also demanded.

The petition was filed by several human rights organizations after allegations of severe abuse and human rights violations were made against the Sde Teiman facility and the IDF soldiers operating it.

The High Court says in its decision that conditions at the detention center have changed significantly since the petition was filed, including a large reduction in the number of detainees and alterations to the physical infrastructure at the base.

The court therefore suffices with an order instructing the state to abide by the laws for detaining such suspects.

“Protecting the rule of law, even during a difficult war, is the clear expression of the difference between a democratic state, which is fighting for its life, and a terrorist organization which wants to destroy it,” writes Acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman.

Vogelman adds that allegations of criminal conduct at Sde Teiman should be investigated by the authorities, noting that such investigations have already begun. One soldier has been indicted for abuse at the facility, and five others are currently under investigation.

Allegations of severe human rights abuses at Sde Teiman against Palestinian detainees emerged earlier this year, with several media outlets and NGOs reporting the extreme use of physical restraints, amputations that were necessitated due to prolonged use of handcuffs, beatings, and neglect of medical problems the facility.

The five soldiers currently under investigation are suspected of aggravated sodomy (a charge equivalent to rape), as well as other forms of assault and abuse, against a detainee.