הוועד הציבורי נגד עינויים בישראל

On 21 November 2007, PCATI attorney, Yaara Kalmanowitz, submitted letters of complaint to the Israel Police and the Israel Prison Service (IPS) on behalf of PCATI and Adalah-The Legal Center for Arab Minority in Israel concerning excessive violence during a search operation by Israel Prison Service units on tents housing security prisoners at the Ketziot Detention Facility which led to the injury of a large number of inmates and the death of the prisoner, Mohamad El-Ashkar.

One letter was addressed to the commander of the National Unit for the Investigation of Prison Wardens and demanded than a criminal investigation be opened against the prison guards who had used excessive force.

The second letter was addressed to the Israel Prison Service Commissioner and detailed inappropriate behavior by the IPS including delays in the treatment of prisoners who had been wounded in the incident and their transferal to medical facilities.

The letter to the IPS Commissioner demanded that he take steps to allow prisoners the reasonable conditions of detention they are entitled to and which have, till now, been denied to them.

In addition, PCATI and Adalah demanded that the regulations concerning events such as the one in Ketziot be reviewed. The letters were written in collaboration with Attorney Nur Elatwana from Adalah who collected sworn statements from the injured prisoners.