Conducting Detention Hearings Using WhatsApp

Illustration (created using AI)

On April 29, 2025, we approached various military authorities following testimonies that detention hearings for Palestinian detainees at the Etzion detention facility and others in the West Bank are being conducted via cellphones using the application "WhatsApp.” The use of WhatsApp has become routine, due to the lack of video conferencing stations in detention facilities, and given the fact that detainees are not brought in person to detention hearings. Meanwhile, during the hearing, the detainee whose case is being discussed is crowded behind bars with other detainees, without privacy, and can only see the judge during the brief identification at the beginning of the hearing. 

In the letter, Attorney Nitsan Ilani argues that this way of conducting detention hearings is a major violation of the detainees' fundamental rights to due process, liberty, human dignity, privacy, and equality. Under the current system, detainees cannot effectively participate in hearings, do not see or hear the judge during most of the hearing, and are unable to properly present their arguments. Additionally, the judge cannot properly assess the physical and mental condition of the detainees, which prevents adequate judicial supervision and oversight. 

The letter further states that conducting detention hearings via telephone has been carried out without legal authority and contrary to law. We requested an immediate halt to this practice in West Bank detention facilities, and that all detention hearings be conducted in the presence of the detainee, or at the very least through proper video conferencing systems, which should be installed in all detention facilities. 

ACRI's letter, April 29, 2025  

This letter was written with the assistance of intern Yotam Rotfeld