Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem: “Check claims of torture”

Monday, January 4, 2016, 8:34 Rabbi Aryeh Stern, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, called for an “independent examination”, to check the claims of severe torture made by detainees interrogated by the GSS in the Kfar Duma case. See also here. According to reports from the detainees’ attorneys the torture caused their clients to give false confessions.
Rabbi Stern met with several of the detainees’ families and the parents told him what their sons had gone through while in remand. Some of the detainees have already been released after it became apparent that they had no connection to the Kfar Duma incident. Despite not being involved with the Kfar Duma incident the detainees had undergone tortuous interrogations A representative from Honenu was present at the meeting to assist the detainees’ families with the legal aspect of the situation.
Rabbi Stern was exposed to testimonies and documents describing the interrogations. After the meeting Rabbi Stern expressed hope that an examination would be carried out to look into the claims.
“I am extremely worried by the rumors of severe torture applied to the detainees in the Kfar Duma case,” said Rabbi Stern after meeting with the detainees’ families. “An independent examination should be carried out in order to clarify whether or not everything was done according to the law.”