Unacceptable Humiliation of a Detained Protester by Prison Guards
- ACRI
- May 28
- 2 min read
On May 27, 2025 ACRI contacted the Prison Service Commissioner and the Police Unit for Investigation of Prison Guards with a demand to investigate the abuse and humiliation of a protester who was arrested during a demonstration against the war by guards. While being escorted and during the protester’s detention, Prison Service guards referred to him as an "enemy from within." Because he was wearing a shirt that said “No to War, Yes to Peace,” guards prevented him from entering the cell and forced him to wear another shirt on which they drew an Israeli flag with the inscription "Am Yisrael Chai.” Because of his refusal to serve in the army, guards verbally abused him and threatened him with violence. One guard threatened him that next time they would tattoo a Star of David on his face, and one of the female guards filmed him with her personal mobile phone, stating that she wished he would be kidnapped to Gaza.
In the appeal, Attorney Nitsan Ilani noted that this disturbing and violent conduct contravenes the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, the Criminal Procedure Law, and orders by the Prison Service Commissioner regarding staff conduct. She emphasized the duty of guards to preserve the dignity of detainees, a duty which has also been reinforced by court rulings. She also stressed that this is not an isolated case, but a widespread and ongoing trend since the outbreak of the war, in which guards have allowed themselves to verbally (and sometimes physically) abuse detainees and degrade them, whether due to the detainee's political position, their classification as a "security" detainee, or their nationality. We demanded an immediate investigation, and that proper procedures be clarified for all prison guards.
Following our appeal, the Prison Service published a notice that stated: "The Prison Commissioner instructed to appoint an investigating officer to clarify the circumstances of an incident in which a detainee was brought to court wearing a Prison Service shirt with handwritten text instead of the shirt he wore when arrested by the Israel Police. In addition, the Commissioner gave instructions for the immediate transfer of a prison guard from his position until the completion of the clarification process."
ACRI's appeal, May 27, 2025
Article link: Liran Tamari, The handwritten message on the arrested leftist activist's shirt - and the step against the guard: "I felt it was personal," May 28, 2025 (Heb)
