הוועד הציבורי נגד עינויים בישראל

PCATI’s appeal to the Mr. Avi Dichter, Minister of Internal Security, demanding the amendment of the regulations concerning the supervision of detainees in hospitals was sent following the case of Mohammad al-Ashkar.

Mohammad al-Ashkar was seriously wounded on the night of 22 October 2007 during a violent conflict between prisoners and guards which erupted in the course of an Israel Prison Service personnel raid on tents housing prisoners at the Ketziot prison camp. Mr. Ashkar’s mother, who on came to visit her son at the Soroka hospital the following day, found him unconscious in the hospital’s intensive care unit, breathing with the aid of a, with his hands manacled to his bed and his legs shackled together. According to Mr. al-Ashkar’s mother, four guards were present in the room. She asked them why they were restraining her son, and whether they believed that he could possibly attack them, but they silenced her.

The restraint of a person is a severe violation of his dignity and is allowed only under special circumstances. The shackling of a hospital patient is only permitted in extremely exceptional situations.