Affidavits HaMoked has collected from many detainees who were held in the Shikma Prison interrogation block paint a worrying picture. The detention conditions in this block fall significantly short from the minimum standards stipulated in the law; they do not meet basic human needs and impinge on human dignity.
In a letter to the prison commander, HaMoked wrote, inter alia, that the Palestinian detainees complained of extremely deficient sanitary conditions; cramped, unventilated cells that are freezing cold in winter, stifling hot in summer; the right to shower is denied; replacement clothes are not provided; toilets are pit latrines that are not separated from the rest of the cell; food is inedible; blankets are thin and smelly.
In addition to the obvious indignity this caused, HaMoked also stressed the direct harm it caused to the physical and mental wellbeing of the detainees, who must endure under such substandard conditions. HaMoked demanded that the prison commander act quickly to repair these deficiencies and see to it that the interrogation facility was renovated soon.
