Lama Khater Speaks of Abuse, Torture, in Israeli Jails
Palestinian prisoner and political activist Lama Khater from Hebron has revealed harrowing details about the treatment of Palestinian women held in Israeli prisons. According to her account, female prisoners are subjected to repression, beatings, strip searches, torture and abuse in what she described as profoundly inhumane conditions.
Khater spoke to her lawyer during a recent prison visit. She was arrested from her home in Hebron by Israeli soldiers in a pre-dawn raid on 23 March.
She said she was first transferred to the “Moscovia” detention centre in occupied Jerusalem, which she described as “hell”. There, female guards allegedly took her to a bathroom and brutally beat her after forcing her to undergo a full strip search.
Khater said she was then thrown into a dark and extremely cold cell. Her hijab was forcibly removed, she was verbally abused, water was poured on her mattress, and her eyeglasses were confiscated.
She added that she and other female prisoners were handcuffed and forced to lower their heads and kneel facing a wall in the prison yard. She said members of the Nahshon riot-control unit then dragged her across the yard while she remained handcuffed.
Harsh Night in Ramla
Khater said conditions in Ramla prison were no better. She was held alone in a cell under constant camera surveillance, including in the bathroom. The cell was infested with insects, and she was forced to sit on a metal bar for prolonged periods.
She described her night in Ramla as horrendous.
Khater was later transferred to Damon prison, where she said she witnessed what she called an “oppressive operation”. During inspections, all female prisoners were allegedly subjected to strip searches before being taken into the prison yard with their hands tied behind their backs. They were then forced to kneel and were dragged around the yard.
Khater said the crackdown left many women writhing in pain, and that some continue to suffer from its effects.
She told her lawyer that she is frequently punished without cause and was denied access to daily exercise for 10 days. She said prison authorities used extreme violence, stun grenades and police dogs during repressive operations.
According to Khater, female prisoners are deliberately blindfolded, handcuffed behind their backs and thrown face down onto the ground so that guards can trample on them. She added that they are also prevented from wearing shoes.
Oppression and Deprivation
Khater is currently being held in Cell No. 9 at Damon Prison alongside prisoners Amna and Ayat Sweilem, Umm al-Baraa Ayash, Salam Mansour, Nevin Abdullah, Fatina al-Sharbati, Shahd Adi, Bushra Qawariq and Naila Saradih.
Female prisoners reportedly suffer from severe overcrowding and are often forced to sleep on the floor. The situation is especially difficult for pregnant prisoners, who, according to Khater, are denied showers and have had their clothing confiscated by guards.
Khater said the women often go to bed hungry because of the meagre and poor-quality food provided. As a result, many combine their three daily meals and eat them together at sunset.
She said breakfast consists of two tablespoons of yoghurt and one tablespoon of jam. Lunch typically includes eight tablespoons of rice, chickpeas and either lentils or baila, a chickpea-based dish. Dinner consists of an egg, two tablespoons of hummus and tahini, and occasionally a small serving of soup.
Lama Abdel-Muttalib Dheeb Khater, 50, is the mother of five children. She is a political analyst and media commentator who has written on literature and politics for several newspapers and websites.
Born in Ramallah in 1976, she holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic language from the Faculty of Arts at Hebron University. She is known for her writings in support of the Palestinian resistance.
According to recent figures published by the Palestinian Prisoners Club, there are currently 95 Palestinian women held in Israeli prisons. Among them are three girls, while 19 women are being held under administrative detention. The detainees include one child and three pregnant women.
The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has witnessed a sustained and unprecedented escalation in the targeting of women through arrest campaigns carried out by the Israeli army.
Prisoner-support organisations say that the testimonies and data they have collected point to violations against female prisoners on an unprecedented scale and with a severity not seen in previous periods.
According to testimonies gathered during lawyers’ visits, there has been an increase in beatings and the use of solitary confinement, along with sexual violations, including verbal harassment, strip searches and the imposition of degrading and physically dangerous positions that threaten the prisoners’ well-being.
This news story is based on a report in Sanad News and reprinted in both crossfirearabia.com and countercurrents.org
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