Complaint sent to AG on GSS interrogation methods

Tuesday, August 4, 2015, 20:35 On the evening of Tuesday, August 4, Meir Ettinger, who was detained by the GSS and is being held in the Kishon Detention Center, made serious claims concerning his interrogators. Honenu attorney Yuval Zemer, who is representing Ettinger, stated that he has been subjected to shaking, harsh interrogations and violence. In the past several petitions were filed with the Supreme Court of Israel in which claims were made that some of the methods of interrogation being used by the GSS, including shaking detainees during interrogation, keeping them in certain positions for long periods of time, and sleep deprivation, are illegal. An expanded court panel of nine justices unanimously accepted the petitions and ruled that according to law, the GSS is not authorized to use methods of interrogation which include physical pressure on the detainee being interrogated. In their verdict the justices ruled that, “The GSS does not have the authority to ‘shake’ anyone.”
“I regard as very serious the harsh treatment which Mr. Ettinger has received from the GSS interrogators and the use of violent methods during the interrogations. These are against the law and a complaint on the matter has been sent to the Israeli State Attorney and the Attorney General,” said Zemer. “The deliberation today only strengthens the feeling that this is a false detention which the police are using for public relations purposes and which is causing Mr. Ettinger great suffering. Unfortunately due to the gag order I am prevented from mentioning what the accusations are, however it appears that this is primarily a rehashing of material known to the interrogators for a long time,” added Zemer. On Tuesday, August 4 Ettinger was brought to the Natzrat Magistrate Court for a deliberation on the seven-day remand extension requested by the police. The court extended his remand until Sunday, August 9. Honenu attorney Yuval Zemer announced that he intends to appeal the remand extension on Wednesday, August 5.