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Israeli authorities use unnecessary force to quash protest of detained asylum seekers
Around 1000 asylum seekers left Holot detention center in the Negev and marched to the Egyptian border, protesting
their indefinite detention.
Israeli authorities used unnecessary force during violent arrests of protestors camped by the Egyptian border.
756 of the protestors are currently imprisoned in Saharonim prison, some still without a hearing after nine days in
unlawful detention. Those injured complain of inadequate medical treatment
UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the
Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990, UN Doc. A/CONF.144/28/Rev.1 at 112 (1990), General Provision 4.
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Testimonies collected by HRM from asylum seekers detained Saharonim prison following arrests
T.H., asylum seeker from Eritrea: "When the police started using force, four officers approached me. They managed to
put me under their control and they asked me to go to the bus. I refused to do so, I told them I did not come here to return
back. Then two of them held my legs and the other two held my hands and they started carrying me by force to the bus. I
tried to hold myself to a big rock there so that they will not manage to carry me. Two more policemen came and separated
me from the rock that I was holding on to. They pushed me to the ground and sat on me, forcing their knees to my stomach
and holding my legs and hands strongly. They chained my hands. Then they started beating me very badly. They punched
my forehead, my nose and my eye and they smashed my face with their knee. Two other officers strongly kicked my
stomach with their legs. Today, four days after the attack, I still have scars on my stomach, eye, and my hands. I also have a
severe pain in my ribs on both sides. Then they took me to the bus. On the bus, one of the immigration officers slapped my
face badly. Thanks to the people on the bus I was saved since they were shouting at him to stop beating me. My nose was
badly bleeding there. I believe some of my ribs are broken and asked to be taken to get an x-ray. I did not receive medical
treatment except pain killers."
M.M.A., asylum seeker from Eritrea: "I was transferred from Saharonim to Holot on 8 July 2014 [] I was desperate to
take the action because I suffered from being in prison for so long. I didnt see any difference between Holot and
Saharonim [] On Sunday evening, a large number of policemen and immigration authority officers came and encircled us
[] We refused to go back to Holot since we did not trust the immigration authority [] I saw by my eye many people
become a victim to four or five police officers. Especially they beat people very badly when it became dark and there were
no cameras around [] I joined the protest because I became desperate after such a long time in prison. Up until now, six
days after my unlawful detention, I have had no hearing by the immigration authority or the judge."
S.K., asylum seeker from Eritrea: "I went to Holot on May 2014 by myself, two months after the date the Immigration
Authority summoned me. After an interview conducted by an immigration clerk, he sentenced me to one month
imprisonment in Saharonim. When I finish my sentence in Saharonim, I was transferred to Holot. I didnt see any clear
difference between these two places, they are both prison centers. It was because of that that I participated in all the
protests that we conducted inside and outside holot. On June 27, 2014 I participated, with other protestors, in a march to
the border of Egypt and Israel. [] On Sunday evening, June 29th, [during the arrests] four policemen came to me, held me
by my legs and hands. One policeman slapped me on my face and a lot of blood started running from my nose. Then they
dragged me to the bus [] We were all taken to Saharonim prison. I was interviewed by the immigration authority officer
and was sentenced to 90 days in Saharonim, starting June 30."
M.T., asylum seeker from Eritrea: "On Sunday around 6pm we were encircled by police and immigration officers. They
had horses, water cannon trucks, many cars and above seven buses. One of the officers told us by megaphone that we had
five minutes to go peacefully to the buses. We told them that we had questions that need to be addressed, so we requested
them to give us time and a responsible person who could answer our demand. They refused to listen to us and they started
to take people by force [] It became difficult for us to stay strong when they started to spray our eyes [] Even though I
was not beaten I saw the police attacking people, kicking and punching them. Especially after it became dark or in places
where there were no cameras, they beat many people very badly. I saw people becoming unconscious falling on the ground
and taken to the ambulance."