שתף1990 – PCATI was founded by Ms. Hannah Friedman (Executive Director through January 2008), Professor Stanley Cohen, Dr. Joachim Stein, Journalist Haim Baram, Attorney Avigdor Feldman, Attorney Mazen Kofti, Dr. Ruchama Marton, Attorney Naftali Or-Ner, and Attorney Lea Tsemel.
1991 – B'Tselem published a report on torture written by Professor Stanley Cohen and Dr. Dafna Golan. The report was based on testimonies and affidavits collected by PCATI. This report, and a follow-up report written in 1992, marked a breakthrough in the pubic awareness of the issue of torture in Israel.
1991 – PCATI submitted its first principle petition to the High Court of Justice (HCJ petition 2581/91, Morad Adnan Salhat and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel vs. the Government of Israel). The petition demanded the dismissal of the Landau Commission recommendations, which allowed GSS interrogators to use "moderate physical pressure". The petitioners also requested the Court to order the publication of the classified part of the Commission's report which concerned GSS interrogation techniques. The High Court of Justice rejected the petition on the grounds that it was too general.
1994 – Following the dismissal of the above petition, PCATI filed another principle petition (HCJ petition 5100/94, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel vs. the Government of Israel). In addition to the arguments raised in PCATI's first principle petition, this petition also included the claim that the GSS was operating without legal grounds [at the time the GSS operated on the basis of powers granted to it by specific legislation and the government's residual (prerogative) power outline in the Basic Law: The Government].
. Petitions filed by the Association for Civil Rights (ACRI), Hamoked-Center for the Defense of the Individual, and Attorney Andre Rosenthal were joined to this petition.
1999 – The landmark decision on the above petition was handed down in September 1999. In its ruling, the Court prohibited the use of various means of torture that were systematically employed by the GSS until this time, such as covering the heads of interrogees with smelly sacks, exposure to loud music at all times of the day, sleep prevention, shaking, crouching, and binding to a small, tilted chair. The ruling led to a decrease in the use of torture in Israel.
1996 – In December 1996, PCATI, together with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Gaza, received the Human Rights Award of the French Republic from the President of France.
2000 – Following the onset of the second Intifada in September 2000, there was a sharp increase in the number of interrogees who reported torture and ill treatment, although the numbers did not reach the level of the first Intifada. Testimonies collected by PCATI again revealed the use of means such as bending the body in painful positions and the tightening of manacles on the wrist or arm. In addition, there was a reversion to the methods of torture prohibited by the High Court of Justice in 1999. PCATI expanded its activities and began employing field workers and external attorneys to assist the in-house staff in locating detainees and investigating cases of torture or CIDT.
2002- In January 2002, PCATI filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against the State of Israel's assassination policy. This policy allows the execution of suspects and wanted persons without trial and without carrying out suspect arrest procedures. In December 2006, the Court ruled that the option of assassinations must be limited to a prescribed set of circumstances. Assassination may be employed only if a person is taking an active part in a hostile activity (combat action) in contrast to someone who takes an indirect role in the action, or who is no longer active during the attack. In addition, the Court stated that assassinations are permissible only if there is well-grounded evidence that the target of the planned assassination is actually taking an active part in hostile activities. Assassination should only be used as a last resort - if it is not possible to arrest him or take actions against him that are less severe. Finally, if the assassination may cause injury to nearby persons, the injury to others must not exceed the benefit the action will achieve. The Court also determined that a retroactive independent investigation must be held in the case of each assassination in order to examine if it met the above standards.
PCATI Reports
Reports published by PCATI in recent years have shown that torture and CIDT continue to exist in Israel and the OPT and that government and judicial authorities do not take appropriate action to stop these practices and, at times, even support them.
The 2007 report "Ticking Bombs: Testimonies of Torture Victims in Israel" examines the "ticking bomb" scenario that underlies the "necessity defense" argument. By utilizing this argument, an interrogator may be absolved from criminal responsibility for injury to a detainee (based on the directives given by the Attorney General to the government following the 1999 HCJ ruling). The report describes the harsh interrogation methods used by GSS officers that reach the level of torture prohibited in international law under all circumstances. The cases described in the report also raise doubts as to the justification of the concept of the "ticking bomb." Moreover, the detailed personal testimonies of torture victims included in the report expose the wide circle of accomplices to torture: GSS interrogators, soldiers, military officers, prison wardens, police officers, doctors and medical staff (at military detention hospitals, GSS interrogation facilities, police detention centers, and prisons), military attorneys, judges, the Attorney General, the State Attorney and the attorney responsible for investigation of GSS interrogees' complaints, all – in practice or through their silence- are partners to the torture scenarios described in the report.
“Family Matters, Using Family Members to Pressure Detainees" was published in April 2008 and describes the exploitation of family members of interrogees by the GSS in a way that can only be described as genuine psychological ill treatment aimed at pressuring detainees to confess. This form of torture and CIDT is both illegal and immoral.
The June 2008 report “No Defense: Soldier Violence against Palestinian Detainees” exposed the widespread phenomenon of violence by Israeli soldiers against bound Palestinian detainees, who no longer present a danger to the arresting forces. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the almost absolute indifference of the authorities and a weak law enforcement system which rarely investigates complaints or brings perpetrators to justice.
