Three Affidavits Filed with Department of State
14 January 1999
Three Affidavits Filed with Department of State
THREE US CITIZENS OF ARAB DESCENT FILE AFFIDAVITS WITH DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROTESTING LACK OF EQUAL PROTECTION OF THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS AND CALL FOR ISRAEL TO STOP THE USE OF TORTURE
A Morning Newsmaker press conference will be held on Thursday, August 26 at 9:00 a.m. at the National Press Club, First Amendment Lounge, National Press Building, 529 14th Street NW. Three US citizens who were recently released after detention, interrogation and torture by Israeli authorities will file affidavits with the Department of State the same day. They will speak briefly of their experiences while visiting Israel and will be available for individual interviews following the press conference.
All three young men were subjected to variations of the following standard interrogation methods (detailed in the Department of State Human Rights Report and reports of Amnesty International, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, an Israeli organization, and numerous other human rights groups):
- Food deprivation (one American lost forty pounds in six weeks of interrogation)
- Sleep deprivation for 48 hours and more
- Beatings and shackling
- Long periods in “the chair” (shabeh) — tightly handcuffed and chained in a contorted position on a low chair with the two front legs shorter than the back, causing hands to balloon and lose all sense of feeling, and with head covered with a filthy hood.
- Psychological torture — threats to abort pregnant wife held in adjoining room or rape sister or mother
- Placed in extremely small, filthy cells without adequate blankets, ventilation or sanitary facilities and often isolated there for weeks at a time.
Bishar Saidi, an electrical engineer from Detroit, MI, age 35; Anwar Mohamed, owner of a hotel gift shop in Orlando, FL, age 27; and Yusuf Marei, office manager for the Islamic Community Center of Chicago, IL, age 33, are seeking legal redress for their torture. The goals of the three men are:
- To bring these issues to the attention of Congress and the American public.
- To halt the Israeli government practice of torture.
- To bring about the release of the remaining American citizens detained by Israel.
- To ensure that all US citizens visiting Israel are afforded due process and respect for their human rights.
Partners for Peace is following the cases of six other US citizens currently detained by Israel. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab American Institute, the Council for the National Interest and NAAA have joined Partners for Peace in inviting the participation of scores of other organizations to join in the call for an end to these unlawful practices.
