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B'Tselem

World Organisation Against Torture

State of Israel

Palestinian National Authority

BBC Special Report - Middle East Peace Process

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

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Article 5: Freedom from torture

Case Study: ISRAEL BANS TORTURE

• Following an appeal by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, the Supreme Court banned torture in September 1999 in "most circumstances".
• Before then, Israel had been the only western democracy that officially permitted torture.

Analysis

According to Amnesty International there are still around 90 countries around the world that practice torture, described as the "twentieth century epidemic". In the case of Israel, human rights campaigners estimated that 85% of Palestinians interrogated by security officials ended up in the hands of the General Security Services (Shin Bet).

Before the Supreme Court ruling, interrogators were allowed to use "moderate physical pressure" if they had reason to believe this could lead them to extract information to prevent a terrorist attack. An official report has since admitted that they went much further, particularly during the Palestinian uprising or intifada in 1988-92.

While the Supreme Court ruling cannot guarantee that incidents of torture will not occur in the future, it does clearly state that such practices are unnaceptable. With renewed violence in the region and the success of the Middle East peace process in the balance, human rights bodies are closely monitoring the situation.