- Oct 17, 2011
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A doctor at a field hospital for detained Palestinians at Israel’s Sde Teiman army base has described “deplorable conditions” and “routine” amputations due to handcuff injuries, according to an exclusive report from the newspaper Haaretz.
In a letter to Israel’s attorney general and defense and health ministers, obtained by Haaretz, the doctor said the conditions at Sde Teiman field hospital compromise inmates’ health and violate medical ethics.
“Just this week, two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries, which unfortunately is a routine event,” the doctor said in the letter, according to the Haaretz report on Thursday. He wrote that inappropriate care at the detention facility has led to “complications and sometimes even in the patient’s death,” adding that “this makes all of us – the medical teams and you, those in charge of us in the health and defense ministries, complicit in the violation of Israeli law.”
In a written statement to CNN responding to the claims, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said: “The IDF operates according to the law and within the framework of the law when it comes to the treatment of detainees. ... The handcuffing of the detainees is carried out in accordance with the procedures, their health condition and the level of danger posed by them, in order to ensure the safety of the forces and the medical staff.”
CNN spoke to a source who has a medical background and previously visited the Sde Teiman field hospital. They confirmed seeing detainees held in constant restraints.
The medical source, who spoke to CNN on Thursday on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said all the Gazan detainees they saw at the field hospital had all four limbs shackled, which the source said increases the risk of blood clotting and other health concerns.
In a letter to Israel’s attorney general and defense and health ministers, obtained by Haaretz, the doctor said the conditions at Sde Teiman field hospital compromise inmates’ health and violate medical ethics.
“Just this week, two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries, which unfortunately is a routine event,” the doctor said in the letter, according to the Haaretz report on Thursday. He wrote that inappropriate care at the detention facility has led to “complications and sometimes even in the patient’s death,” adding that “this makes all of us – the medical teams and you, those in charge of us in the health and defense ministries, complicit in the violation of Israeli law.”
In a written statement to CNN responding to the claims, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said: “The IDF operates according to the law and within the framework of the law when it comes to the treatment of detainees. ... The handcuffing of the detainees is carried out in accordance with the procedures, their health condition and the level of danger posed by them, in order to ensure the safety of the forces and the medical staff.”
CNN spoke to a source who has a medical background and previously visited the Sde Teiman field hospital. They confirmed seeing detainees held in constant restraints.
The medical source, who spoke to CNN on Thursday on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said all the Gazan detainees they saw at the field hospital had all four limbs shackled, which the source said increases the risk of blood clotting and other health concerns.
