The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI; ) is an Israeli

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

established in 1990 that monitors the use of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and ill-treatment by Israeli security services against

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

under detention. PCATI was founded in 1990 in reaction to what it describes as "the ongoing policy of the Israeli government, which permitted the systematic use of torture and ill treatment in

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; , (GSS); ), better known by the Hebrew acronyms, acronyms Shabak (; ; ) or Shin Bet (from the abbreviation of , "Security Service"), is Israel's internal Security agency, security service. Its motto is "''Magen ...

interrogations".

Overview

PCATI monitors

detention centers A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...

and advocates against the use of torture in interrogation in Israel using legal means, supporting relevant legislation and an information campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the subject. PCATI cooperates with other human rights organizations, Israeli, Palestinian and international, in its struggle against the use of torture in Israel and for the implementation of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and

international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...

Israeli law Israeli law is based mostly on a common law legal system, though it also reflects the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman, t ...

and practice. PCATI is also engaged in outreach and education programs aimed at raising and engaging public discourse and consciousness regarding torture, impunity and related violations of human rights. In December 1996, PCATI, together with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Gaza, received the 1996 French Republic Award on Human Rights from the President of France.

Work

PCATI acts on behalf of all people—Israelis, Palestinians, labor immigrants and other foreigners residing in Israel and the

Occupied Palestinian Territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupi ...

—with the aim of protecting them from torture and ill-treatment by the Israeli security authorities.

Public Committee Against Torture in Israel v. Government of Israel 1999

PCATI won a historic victory when, on 6 September 1999, in response to petitions of principle PCATI began submitting to the

Israeli Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

in 1991, and petitions filed together with the

Association for Civil Rights in Israel The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) (; ) was created in 1972 as an independent, non-partisan not-for-profit organization with the mission of protecting human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control. ...

, Hamoked–Center for the Defense of the Individual and others, the Supreme Court prohibited the use of various means of torture that were systematically employed by the

until then. Following the decision, there was a significant decrease in the number of complaints regarding torture or the use of the harsh methods previously used. However, following the onset of the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

in September 2000, there was, again, a sharp increase in the number of complaints of torture and ill treatment indicating a reversion to the methods prohibited by the Supreme Court. This resulted from the exploitation of " necessity defense" opening allowed by the Court in its ruling, or by altogether denying the fact that physical force was used in interrogation, which victims would find difficult to challenge. There was also a widening of the phenomenon of the ill treatment of Palestinian detainees by soldiers and other members of the security forces. In light of this, PCATI expanded its activities and began employing field workers and external attorneys to assist the in-house staff in the investigation and treatment of cases of torture or cruel,

inhuman or degrading treatment Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention ...

(CIDT). PCATI has, in addition continued to search for additional ways to combat torture, CIDT and related violations of human rights and particularly the issue of impunity, and to develop its legal and public advocacy methodology.

Public Committee Against Torture in Israel v. Government of Israel 2006

In 2002, PACTI, together with the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights, brought the Israeli practice of "preventative

targeted killings Targeted killing is a form of assassination carried out by governments outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield. Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention within and between variou ...

" to the

Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

. In the important case against the Israeli government, often cited in legal literature today, the Supreme Court did not condemn the practice of "

" as such as illegal under

International law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, but the lawfulness should be examined after each case under the particular circumstances. Though the interpretation of the Court on "civilians who take direct part in hostilities" has been criticized in academic publications. Orna Ben-Naftali and Keren Michaeli conclude that "the court has, in effect, created a broad category of 'unlawful combatants' who are not entitled either to the privileges of combatants or to the immunities of civilians". They add that this decision by the Supreme Court would have contributed more to the international legal discourse if human rights law and the context of long-term occupation would have been applied.

Referral to the International Criminal Court 2022

On 10 June 2022, PCATI said it was referring 17 cases to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

having concluded that obtaining justice within the Israeli system was impossible.

Reports

In 2009, PCATI released a report titled "Shackling as a Form of Torture and Abuse" that accused Israel of torturing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners by

shackling A shackle (or shacklebolt), also known as a gyve, is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. The term also applies to handcuff ...

them in violation of International standards. The report also called into question Israel's refusal to allow the Red Cross to inspect Facility 1391, a secret prison which has been called Israel's "Guantanamo Bay". The Public Committee against Torture in Israel is conducting annual reports on the current situation in Israel. In 2022, the report stated that since 2001, over 1400 complaints have been submitted to the Ministry of Justice, whereas supposedly only 3 investigations were opened. The reports are published in English, Hebrew and Arabic language.

Media coverage

PCATI is repeatedly referred to in various media. These include articles, about PCATI or with PACTI as a source, in the Israeli newspapers

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...

, the

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Je ...

, +972 Magazine and the British

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as well as

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

. On 20 September 2016,

NGO Monitor NGO Monitor is a right-wing organization based in Jerusalem that reports on international NGO (non-governmental organisation) activity from a pro-Israel perspective. The organization was founded in 2001 by Gerald M. Steinberg under the auspic ...

called out the inability of PCATI to base some of their allegations, such as the 2013 claim that Israel placed Palestinian children (and adults) in iron cages. Since then, several news networks circulated this claim, including

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

and

mondoweiss ''Mondoweiss'' is a news website that began as a general-interest blog written by Philip Weiss on ''The New York Observer'' website. It subsequently developed into a broader collaborative venture after fellow journalist Adam Horowitz joined it ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Committee Against Torture In Israel 1990 establishments in Israel Organizations established in 1990 Human rights organizations based in Israel Torture in Israel