UN says Israeli solitary confinement nearly doubled in 2 years

The use of solitary confinement in Israeli jails nearly doubled between 2012 and 2014, a UN panel investigating the Jewish state over a raft of alleged violations of prisoners’ rights says Tuesday.

In its first review of Israel since 2009, the UN committee against torture questioned a delegation from Jerusalem over multiple reports of potentially illegal conduct by security agents, especially with respect to Palestinian prisoners.

Lead questioner Jens Modvig says the UN committee had “received reports that the use of solitary confinement in Israeli jails has doubled between 2012 and 2014,” with the number of people held in isolation jumping from 390 to 755 over the period.

Committee members, who typically do not visit the countries subject to review, compile their statistics largely from data provided by civil society groups and independent reports.

Modvig, who did not give statistics for 2015, asked Israel to provide its own breakdown of the prevalence of solitary confinement, including why the practice appeared to have spread dramatically.

He further sought figures on the number of suicide attempts among those held in isolation.

Modvig also asked Jerusalem to respond to reports that Palestinian women detained in Israel were subject to “verbal sexual harassment, repeated strip searches and forms of genital violence,” without listing specific cases.

In opening remarks, Israel’s deputy attorney general Roy Schondorf says Jerusalem is fully committed to abiding by the UN Convention against Torture, “in spite of the numerous, unique and pressing difficulties facing Israel in the fight against terrorism.

The government delegation is due to formally respond to the UN panel’s questions on Wednesday.

— AFP