CPAP: An American Victim of Israeli Torture Speaks Out
11 August 1999
CPAP: An American Victim of Israeli Torture Speaks Out
REPORT FROM A CPAP BRIEFING WITH BESHAR JOHN SAIDI AND JERRI BIRD
Beshar John Saidi, an Arab-American electrical engineer who was tortured and spent 18 months in an Israeli prison without due process, spoke about his experiences and answered questions at a Center luncheon briefing on 5 August 1999. Joining him to discuss the campaign for his release and the lack of response from U.S. officials, both in Israel and at the State Department, was Jerri Bird, president of the Washington-based Partners for Peace.
Bird provided brief background information on the ongoing cases of the nine known U.S. citizens currently being tortured and imprisoned by the Israeli government without trial and without the intercession of U.S. representatives. Of these nine, four have been released, and three have agreed to document their cases in affidavits to be presented to the State Department.
There is no way of confirming how many other Americans are being held in Israeli jails because the Israeli government refuses to release the names of these detainees. Moreover, the U.S. consulate has refused to take a proactive stand on their behalf. Bird cited the case of Anwar Muhammad, also a U.S. citizen, who, despite repeated pleas for assistance, was tortured and remained in detention for 40 days. Muhammad, who lost 40 pounds as a result of his torture, at one point told U.S. officials that, if they continued to delay action, they would “find [him] in a casket.”
By publicizing Saidi’s case, Bird emphasized, “we want to engage you in action.” The experiences of Saidi and others must be made public through a four-pronged advocacy campaign aimed at Congress, the media, the State Department, and the general public. Bird added that the theme of this campaign should be “due process and no torture,” rather than “trash Israel.”
Saidi began his remarks by pointing out that his case is not unique. In addition to the other U.S. citizens tortured and held in Israeli detention, there have been thousands of Palestinian administrative detainees whose predicament, made worse by Israeli occupation of their homeland and lack of legal recourse to anything but military edict, has persisted largely without media or diplomatic scrutiny.
Nonetheless, Saidi’s case is made all the more troubling by the fact that he is a U.S. citizen. Born in Lebanon, he moved to the United States in 1986 and completed his degree in electrical engineering in South Dakota. In December 1997, he and his wife, a Palestinian from the Galilee, traveled to Israel to celebrate Christmas with Saidi’s in-laws. Saidi entered Israel from Lebanon, where he had briefly gone to visit relatives. Days later, as he, his wife, and her family were eating Christmas dinner, 20 Israeli soldiers raided Mrs. Saidi’s family home and abducted Saidi.
During 24 days of torture, his interrogators repeatedly demanded to know why he had come to Israel. Unaware of any charges against him, Saidi refused to answer, responding instead with his own questions. It became clear that his “crime” was traveling “from Lebanon to Haifa in one day”-an indication, according to his accusers, that Saidi was aiding terrorist activity.
Based on this “evidence,” Saidi endured “striking” brutality at the hands of his interrogators. Recounting this experience, he described methods of physical and psychological torture that have long been familiar to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Saidi was made to sit for days on end in the painful position known as shabeh while cold air streamed in through multiple vents in the interrogation room.
He described his cell as a three-by-five foot “dungeon” that sometimes held several prisoners. There was no access to running water, and daily rations sometimes amounted to no more than one boiled egg. In addition to these forms of physical torture, Saidi endured psychological torture and sleep deprivation, which frequently lasted for five days. When he refused to confess, his interrogators threatened to kill him, rape his wife, and defame him by spreading rumors that he was a collaborator.
Although Saidi asked repeatedly to consult with U.S. officials, he was categorically denied this right and told to “bang his head against the wall.” Bird pointed out that this represented a flagrant disregard of international law, which requires that the embassy of a foreign national be notified within 24 hours of imprisonment.
Even after learning of Saidi’s detention, the U.S. consulate in Haifa only intervened after 14 days. The U.S. government, therefore, may also be responsible for unnecessarily prolonging Saidi’s suffering. This is as disturbing as it is inexplicable, particularly in light of previous U.S. reaction to cases of Americans imprisoned abroad (Bird mentioned the case of the American sentenced to caning in Singapore).
Had the “evidence” against Saidi been true, he would have faced ten years in an Israeli jail, the “average sentence” for aiding terrorism against Israel. That he only spent 18 months in jail is proof enough of his innocence of the alleged crime.
These months might have turned into years had it not been for sustained efforts on Saidi’s behalf, particularly in the United States. He listed four ways in which this advocacy helped ameliorate his ordeal:
1. he did not have to endure more than 24 days of torture (a relative show of leniency given the customary three months of torture that most prisoners face);
2. his original sentence was reduced from ten to five years;
3. his wife received moral and financial support from Americans who became aware of her husband’s plight; and
4. his legal fees (to date, in excess of $20,000) have been paid in full by supporters in the United States.
Saidi concluded by reminding his audience that there are others who remain languishing in Israeli jails. It is inexcusable that the State Department continues to ignore these cases. Bird added that she and Saidi have been received by “very responsive audiences,” including “a large part of the Jewish community.” If the abuse inflicted upon Saidi is to be prevented in the future, support should be mustered “with the American public.”
The above text is a summary of remarks delivered on 5 August 1999 by Beshar Saidi and Jerri Bird. Their views do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine or The Jerusalem Fund. This summary may be used without permission but with proper attribution to the Center for Policy Analysis on Palestine.
This information first appeared in For The Record No. 14, 11 August 1999.
