Thursday, October 27, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Leaked memo shows how George Soros planned to overthrow Vladimir Putin and destabilise Russia
DC Leaks documents detail how dangerous the Open Society and George Soros were to the preservation of the Russian Federation.
The recent DC Leaks, of over 2,500 documents from George Soros NGOs, has shed a bright light on how the billionaire uses his vast wealth to create global chaos in an never ending push to deliver his neo-liberal euphoria to the peasant classes
While Soros has managed to thoroughly destabilise the European Union by promoting mass immigration and open borders, divided the United States by actively funding Black Lives Matters and corrupting the very corruptible US political class, and destroyed Ukraine by pushing for an illegal coup of a democratically elected government using neo-nazi strong men…one country that Soros has not bee able to crack has been The Russian Federation.
Russia’s political pragmatism and humanist value system rooted in a traditional, “nation-state” culture most likely infuriates Soros.
Russia is Soros’ white whale…a creature he has been trying to capture and kill-off for nearly a decade.
Unfortunately for Soros (and fortunately for the entire planet) the Russian government realised the cancerous nature of Soros backed NGOs, and took the proper preventative measures…which in hindsight, and after reviewing the DC Leaks memos, proved to be a very wise move.
On November 30th 2015, Zerohedge reported,
Russian Prosecutor General’s Office issued a statement in which it recognized George Soros’s Open Society Institute and another affiliated organization as “undesirable groups”, banning Russian citizens and organizations from participation in any of their projects.–prosecutors said the activities of the Open Society Institute and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation were a threat to the foundations of Russia’s Constitutional order and national security. They added that the Justice Ministry would be duly informed about these conclusions and would add the two groups to Russia’s list of undesirable foreign organizations.According to RT, prosecutors launched a probe into the activities of the two organizations – both sponsored by the well-known US financier George Soros – in July this year, after Russian senators approved the so-called “patriotic stop-list” of 12 groups that required immediate attention over their supposed anti-Russian activities.The Law on Undesirable Foreign Organizations came into force in early June this year. It requires the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Foreign Ministry to draw up an official list of undesirable foreign organizations and outlaw their activities. Once a group is recognized as undesirable, its assets in Russia must be frozen, its offices closed and the distribution of any of its materials must be banned. That said, it is doubtful that Soros still has any active assets in Russia – his foundation, which emerged in Russia in its early post-USSR years in the mid-1990s, wrapped up active operations in 2003 when Putin cemented his control on power.
The huge document tranche released by DC Leaks shows how dangerous the Open Society and George Soros were to the well being and preservation of the Russian Federation and the Russian culture.
In a document from November 2012 entitled, “OSF [Open Society Foundation] Russia Strategic Planning Meeting Notes”, Participants:
Leonard Benardo, Iva Dobichina, Elizabeth Eagen, Jeff Goldstein, Minna Jarvenpaa, Ralf Jürgens, Elena Kovalevskaya, Vicki Litvinov, Tanya Margolin, Amy McDonough, Sara Rhodin, Yervand Shirinyan, Becky Tolson
Discuss how to …
Identify joint priorities for OSF’s Russia activities in the coming year. How can we most effectively collaborate, considering the deteriorating political environment for our partners?
The main revelation of the document minutes comes from the hope that Medvedev’s years as president would provide the NGOs the “opening” they would need to finally break the Russian bear.
That all evaporated in 2012, when Vladimir Putin returned to the President’s office.
The OSF, clearly distraught and disappointed, begins to lay down the groundwork for how to challenge the Putin administration, in light of his very different approach to dealing with NGOs like the Open Society Foundation.
The human rights context has greatly changed from 2006 to 2012: the Medvedev period allowed for a number of improvements and significant openings for NGOs. Amendments to the NGO law in 2006 led to campaigning on behalf of NGOs; many of our grantees benefited during this period. Surkov established ties with many groups that were willing to cooperate with the state and our partners served as experts in key processes like police reform. A space was created for modernization and for the inclusion of civil society during Medvedev’s term. However, pressure has come back very quickly in the short time that Putin has been back in power.
A major turning point for NGO operation in Russia came with the botched Russian “Maidan like” protests, which were promptly dismantled before any damage could be inflicted.
The Russian protests deeply affected the life of NGOs. The state had been providing money for self-organization, thinking this would defuse the possibility of large-scale opposition. But by encouraging self-organization, they had opened up a Pandora’s Box. People became active and began to feel that it was possible to change something; the door was opened for self-mobilization.The state has responded with repression and political prisoners, in order to instill fear in the population. The state is also working to undermine social support for the protests. Its support of socially-oriented (“good”) NGOs is a way to divide the community, while the foreign agents law frames the protests as foreign money undermining Russia.
Why the fascination with Russia? Why is it important for OSF to focus on Russia? With Russia comes immense wealth and tremendous geo-political power.
Key open society themes and issues are highly relevant in Russia
– Transparency and accountability (anticorruption)
– Rights and justice (i.e., criminal justice, policing, rule of law, LGBT, women’s rights)
– Migration
– Inclusive education (disability, Roma)
– Media freedom, access to information
– Health (access to medicines, HIV, harm reduction)Copy-cat problem: Russian tactics are picked up by Central Asia (ie, anti-extremism law in Kazakhstan)Russia’s influence in UN Human Rights Council – pushing resolution that says human rights should take into consideration traditional values of country in question – very few HR orgs that are following the council saw this coming – has large implications beyond RussiaParticipation in global international regimes (G20, ICC, WTO) – a more open Russia creates changes in international governing bodiesEuropean Court litigation
The document details in an extensive bullet point list, “what must be done” to destabilize Russia, focusing on many recurrent neo-liberal themes that Soros uses to infect host nations and overturn governments…
– Political prisoners (Bolotnaya, etc.)
– Media censorship and control (pressure in independent media – work w/ NMP)
– Surveillance
– LGBT (push against propaganda laws, which are driven by local officials, not by the federal gov’t)
– Women’s rights
– Disability rights and inclusive educationPrisons
– Lots of funding is going to monitoring; where is our money best placed?
– ONKs don’t have sufficient $ for travel and legal representationPolicing and police violence (Public Verdict, Man and Law, etc.)
MigrantsTransparency and accountability
– State spending – monitoring, analysis
– Tracking cross-border transactions and business purchases
– Connections between accountability, human rights, and ordinary citizens’ interests
The complete PDF document can be found here:
-Russia-russia strategic planning 2012-meeting notes-russia strategic planning meeting notes 11 16 12.pdf
-Russia-russia strategic planning 2012-meeting notes-russia strategic planning meeting notes 11 16 12.pdf
Following the 2012 document, and the apparent disappointment expressed by OSF members at Russia’s resistance to the neo-liberal way of life, DC Leaks provides a follow up memo entitled, “Russia Project Strategy, 2014-2017”.
The document summary…
Russia today faces a regrettable backsliding into authoritarian practice. Confronted with serious domestic challenges, the regime has become more insular and isolationist, seeking to solidify its base. The progressively draconian laws promulgated since Putin’s return to the presidency have placed all foreign- funded organizations under threat of isolation and disrepute. Despite these decidedly challenging conditions, it is essential that we continue to engage Russia, both to preserve its extant democratic spaces, and to ensure that Russian voices do not go dark on the broader global stage.
The destabilization of Russia, now aptly named, “the Russia Project” goes on to identify three cornerstone concepts…
Amid the grim landscape, there nonetheless remain apertures for the Russia Project’s intervention. Exploiting all available opportunities, we will undertake the following three concepts, which we deem vital in the current climate:1) We will mitigate the negative impact of new laws via domestic and international advocacy. Key allies in this regard are the growing numbers of diverse Russian citizens opposing the country’s regression, along with the sizeable community of Russian legal experts with an in-depth knowledge of NGO law and a strong motivation to help the sector continue its activities.2) We will integrate Russian voices into the global exchange of ideas. Given that Russian intellectuals, practitioners and activists are increasingly sidelined domestically, and academics are often isolated from the international community, we will support venues for inserting diverse, critical Russian thinking into the global discourse. Such opportunities allow Russian actors to enter into mutually beneficial collaborations on topics ranging from migration to digital activism, thus maintaining their relevance and reducing their provincialization.3) We aim to mainstream the rights and dignity of one of Russia’s most marginalized populations: LGBT individuals. The RP’s diverse network of partners provides an opportunity to build a broader base of civil society allies at a time when the LGBT community is under profound threat. We hope to see a more balanced discourse on LGBT rights among the Russian public, as well as a strong cohort of mainstream independent organizations actively incorporating LGBT interests into their work.
Social mobilisation and the funding of alternative media networks, to promote social discourse and dissatisfaction, are common tactics that Soros NGOs uses to build up towards a revolution.
Along with these initiatives, we remain committed to supporting three primary fields: (a) access to justice and legal empowerment of marginalized groups, (b) access to independent information and alternative media, and (c) platforms for critical debate, discussion, and social mobilization. The RP plans to provide core support to our trusted partners in each of these fields, investing in their growth and development, and remaining flexible about the funding arrangements necessary to allow them to continue their essential work. We also seek to strengthen their legitimacy and financial sustainability, in order to build a more transparent, effective, and organizationally efficient third sector.Russia is currently in a gradual, arbitrary, and haphazard process of becoming more closed. Amid this background, the RP’s cardinal role is to create a dense and wide-ranging field of independent civil society actors, who can in the best case help set the agenda for a more open and democratic future in Russia, and in the worst case survive the effects of new draconian legislation.
Engaging with Russian diaspora who oppose the current government, and mobilising the LGBT community through mass media propaganda, are recurrent themes in the Soros document.
The media focus on LGBT rights in the run up to the Sochi winter olympics was an opportunity not to be missed by Soros.
In the short to mid-term, the RP aims to engender broader civil society support for this highly marginalized group. Even though the “propaganda of homosexuality” law has gained unprecedented international attention in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the voices of Russian activists are barely being heard over larger international LGBT organizations. We want to make sure that our Russian partners have a leading role in shaping the strategy of the international movement, that planned campaigns have a domestic rather than just an international focus, and that the momentum gathering around Sochi does not dissipate immediately after the Olympics end.Our comparative advantage lies in the deep and wide networks that we have fostered these past years. A strategic use of these networks will maximize the long-term impact of the work that LGBT rights organizations are doing. LGBT rights groups in Russia are professional and effective, yet they lack the capacity to reach far beyond their immediate communities and galvanize other civil society players necessary for their long-term success.
Destabilisation of a country the size of Russia does not come without a significant price tag, for which George Soros seems more than ready to pony up…
Given the large number of grants in the RP portfolio, we see a need for additional staffing in order to implement our strategic priorities and effectively monitor our activities. However, as a number of programs in the Eurasia region are being restructured, we are awaiting the results of this transition before making any substantive recommendations.
Their can be no doubt that the 2014-2017 plan outlined by Soros NGOs, which even envisioned staff growth and Eurasian region restructuring, has hit a major speed bump with the 2015 law that saw these divisive forces operating within Russian finally get booted out of the country.
The complete PDF document can be found here:
-Russia-Russia Project Revised 2014 2017 Strategy.pdf
http://theduran.com/leaked-memo-shows-how-george-soros-planned-to-overthrow-vladimir-putin-and-destabilise-russia/
-Russia-Russia Project Revised 2014 2017 Strategy.pdf
Democratic Attorney General Sentenced to Prison, Handcuffed in Court Before Family
PENNSYLVANIA — Attorney General Kathleen Kane was originally charged for illegally disclosing details from a grand jury investigation to embarrass a rival and lying about it under oath. Prosecutors called her crimes “egregious” and pushed for jail time. They said a paranoid Kane ruined morale in the 800-person office and the wider law enforcement community through a calculated scheme to embarrass rival prosecutors who had left the office.
By order of Judge Wendy Demchick-Alloy, Kathleen Kane was sentenced 10 to 23 months in jail for illegally disclosing details from a grand jury investigation, two felony counts of perjury and seven misdemeanor charges. Deeming Kane a political “neophyte,” Demchik-Alloy told Kane that her “off with your heads” mentality and failure to transition from campaigner to public servant led to her downfall.
“This case is about ego – the ego of a politician consumed with her image from day one,” Demchick-Alloy said. “This case is about retaliation and revenge against perceived enemies who this defendant felt had embarrassed her in the press. Your children are the ultimate collateral damage. They are casualties of your actions. But you did that, not this court.”
Kane was the first woman and first Democrat elected as Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor. The former assistant county prosecutor was seen as a rising star in the state Democratic Party, before her office fell into turmoil over her behavior and illegal actions.
She had been a stay-at-home mother, and former assistant county prosecutor, before using her husband’s trucking fortune to run for statewide office in 2012.
On Monday, former deputy Clarke Madden said in court that a dark cloud permeated every corner of the attorney general’s office and victims, witnesses and other law enforcement agencies feared working with them.
“Through a pattern of systemic firings and Nixonian espionage, she created a terror zone in this office,” said Erik Olsen, a career prosecutor who is now the chief deputy attorney general.
Kane enjoyed mostly good press early on as she supported gay marriage, ramped up a child predator unit run by her twin sister and questioned her predecessor’s handling of the Penn State sex assault case.
But turmoil inside the office became apparent as top deputies and career prosecutors headed for the doors. Kane’s feud with one of them, Frank Fina, who had helped run the Penn State probe and other sensitive investigations, led to the leak.
Kane, taking aim at him, had a campaign consultant pass confidential files to a reporter about a corruption case Fina had declined to charge before he left the office. She then tried to frame someone else for the leak, aides testified at the perjury and obstruction trial.
Kane and her husband are now estranged and share custody of their teenage boys.
“I really don’t care what happens to me,” Kane said before leaning toward the defense table to grab tissues. “There is no more torture in the world than to watch your children suffer and know you had something to do with it.”
After the decision was made, Kane was handcuffed on the spot before family and friends. She has posted her $75,000 cash bail and now remains free while she appeals her conviction.See
See Videos on the link below:
SH*T JUST GOT REAL: SOURCE LEAKS SURPRISE ELECTION MILITARY DRILL — DHS PREPPING FOR “NO RULE OF LAW” AFTER ELECTION DAY
SHTFPlan.com is exclusively reporting that the US military, DHS, and FEMA are gearing up for a huge, officially unannounced martial law drill set to start Oct. 30 and running through to 30 days after the election.
By the sound of it, this has nothing to do with foreign invaders but with quelling potential mass civil unrest in American streets:
This tip came through the back channels; its implications are astounding.If there is any truth to it, the 2016 election could be a kick-off for total tyranny.According to an unnamed source – who has provided accurate intel in the past – an unannounced military drill is scheduled to take place during a period leading up to the election and throughout the month after.It appears that the system is gearing up to handle outbreaks of violence, chaotic rallies and poll stations, and the possibility that the people of the United States may become very dissatisfied with the outcome by using military force and martial law.The drill could, of course, go live at any time; Homeland Security and the military are prepared to contend with a period of unrest, and restore order to a divided and broken country – regardless of whether people like their new leader or not.As you know, DHS is already monitoring this election and prepared to take over its ‘critical infrastructure’. The scope of this drill would, of course, take things much further:Hi Guys,I got some gouge from a former military colleague who is in contact with active duty personnel and he received an email about an upcoming drill. We need confirmation on this, but if we put it out there we might get a leaker to come forward and confirm:Date: October 30th – 30 days after the election
Suspected Region: Northeast, specifically New York1st Phase: NROL (No Rule of Law) – drill involving combat arms in metro areas (active and reserve). Source says active duty and reserve service members are being vaccinated as if they are being deployed in theatre.2nd Phase: LROL (Limited Rule of Law) – Military/FEMA consolidating resources, controlling water supply, handing out to public as needed.3rd Phase: AROL (Authoritarian Rule of Law) – Possible new acronym or term for “Martial Law”. Curfew, restricted movements, basically martial law scenario.Source said exercise involves FEMA/DHS/Military
So far this drill has not been confirmed outside the single source, but maybe now that it’s in the alt. media, others will come forward to verify it.
However, with everything else going on right now geopolitically, this makes sense. Obviously with this election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, large masses of people are going to be pissed off either way no matter who wins. The government must recognize that fact.
The first phase of the drill refers to “combat arms in metro areas”. The second phase is about controlling the water supply. The third phase is martial law without saying it.
By the looks of this, the system is gearing up for a fight with the people on election day. Could the system’s consolidation of power behind Hillary and her ascension to the US throne have something to do with it?
No matter what, it’s never too late to be prepared… until it is too late.
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BREAKING: Florida Governor Busted Attempting To Toss Thousands Of Mail-In Ballots (DETAILS)
Florida Governor Rick Scott declared war on Florida voting rights. He tried to throw out tens of thousands of mail-in ballots this election, but a federal judge blocked the action, then reprimanded him. Saturday U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a blistering caution to the Scott’s top election official on a lawsuit about vote-by-mail ballots.
Governor Scott appointed Secretary of State Ken Detzner. The judge accused Detzner of trying to delay a hearing, “so that he could use every second available to run out the clock,” according to ABC News. That means, there would not be enough time to address the lawsuit. Then, Judge Walker said the governor’s man, Detzner, was in effect committing an “undeclared war’ on Florida voters’ rights.
Florida’s Democratic Party filed a lawsuit asserting that thousands of vote-by-mail ballots were rejected each election, because the voter’s ballot envelope and the registration file signatures do not match. Without a signature, Florida law says that a vote-by-mail ballot cannot be counted.
The lawsuit says that Florida county canvassing boards in the 2012 presidential election rejected over 23,000 votes. Anyone who forgets to sign their ballot can sign it. But when those signatures do not match, the lawsuit says they should have that same right to make sure their signatures match.
The Tallahassee, Florida judge said he will skip the hearing that was scheduled for Monday and make a decision on the lawsuit. In his order, the judge said:
‘This court will not allow the Florida Secretary of State — a high-level officer of the State of Florida — to take a knee and deprive Florida citizens of their most precious right.’
In an email, the spokesperson for the Secretary of State Meredith Beatrice wrote the department had responded by the deadline set by the court. In addition, she claimed her office wasn’t the correct lawsuit defendant, because county canvassing boards canvass mail-in ballots. The Secretary of State’s Office wrote in court documents that the county canvassing boards are the ones to handle this type of problem, not the agency.
The judge scheduled a hearing Monday, after the lawsuit was filed earlier in October. The Secretary of State’s Office asked for time to respond to the lawsuit, one week. Later, the office told the judge that it had no witnesses or evidence for that hearing.
The judge wrote:
‘If one were skeptical, it would appear that the Florida Secretary of State requested as much time as he felt he could possibly justify so that he could use every second available to run out the clock. And by wasting a week on his scintillating response, he quite nearly succeeded.’
Those who use mail-in ballots tend to be elderly with health issues that affect their signature, making it hard to sign the ballots perfectly. The standard for the dual signatures is so high, that it looks like an excuse to toss legitimate ballots.
The judge issued a preliminary injunction to allow Florida Democratic Party count the votes.
Nice try, Governor Scott.
Early voting in Florida starts on October 24, 2016. For information on where and how to vote, check out http://elections.mytimetovote.com/dates/florida.html.
For polling locations and other voting information in all 50 states, check out http://www.vote411.org/.
Shocking Revelation By Homeland Security Officer, Obama Should Resign Tonight: President Told Me To Delete Record With Muslim Terrorists! Then Attack Happened…
Wow, this is crazy. We could have prevented many of the terrorist attacks?! Obama should resign this evening!
The stories like this make me SICK! It’s very tough not to want to punch democrats in their face after this kind of stories!
This is why, it is so important to be careful who you elect for president. This is not joke people, our lives are in question.This former DHS officer wanted to serve his country and thwart potential terror threats, and he was LITERALLY told to not do his job!
From Hannity:
As we continue to learn details about the terror attack that took the lives of 49 people at a popular Orlando nightclub, we’re now learning that the attack might have been preventable. A whistleblower from the Department of Homeland Security has come forward to claim that the department scrubbed records that tied Muslims to terrorism, records that might have prevented the attacks in both San Bernardino and Orlando.
Philip Haney was a founding member of the DHS, beginning his work for the department in 2003. His job, as he explains it, was “connecting the dots” between individuals, organizations, and networks across the country that may have had ties to terrorism.
In 2009, six years into his tenure with the department, Haney claims critical information about U.S. based Muslims with terror ties, which represented years of painstaking work, were deleted from the DHS’s records.
“It was directed from DHS headquarters,” Haney said on Tuesday’s Hannity. “It’s important to keep in mind that that was one year after the November 2008 Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest terror trial in American history, that irrefutably proved that these individuals from the Muslim Brotherhood front groups were in direct financial support of Hamas.”
It was during this trial that the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America, and the North American Islamic Trust were named as un-indicted co-conspirators in funneling money to the terrorist organization Hamas.
According to Haney, orders to purge DHS records came down shortly after President Obama took office in 2009 and then again in 2012. He believes that both the San Bernardino and Orlando attacks might have been prevented had the purges not occurred.
[large]
“In the case of San Bernardino, Syed Farook and his wife, you had identified that mosque as a place you believe we should have been paying attention to?” Sean asked Haney.
“Yes. There’s an entire network of those kinds of mosques across the United States and I found out a couple of days ago that the mosque in Fort Pierce is also related to the same network,” Haney answered.
The San Bernardino attack was particularly preventable according to Haney. “Either Syed Farook would have been put on the no-fly list and not allowed to travel or his pending fiancé would have been denied a visa because of his affiliation with an organization with plausible ties to terrorism. That’s at least two different ways we could have stopped it.”
This is disgusting. Our President has the blood of American people on his hands. We MUST elect Trump for things to change!
And then after that, he should investigate all of this and indict these bustards and put them in jail. How they dear to do this kind of insane things that cost us lives?!
And then after that, he should investigate all of this and indict these bustards and put them in jail. How they dear to do this kind of insane things that cost us lives?!
American media has to report about all of this. American people need to know all of this. We have to be informed and then we have to punish all the politicians that were involved in these stupid actions.
If you agree, please share and comment below.
By sharing this story, you are helping Donald J. Trump to become our new US president.
This story by Conservative Army
Sexual torture of Palestinians by Israeli authorities
A new academic study in the peer-reviewed medical journal ‘Reproductive Health Matters’ has revealed dozens of cases of “alleged sexual torture or ill-treatment” of Palestinian male prisoners detained by Israel.
A new academic study in the peer-reviewed medical journal ‘Reproductive Health Matters’ has revealed dozens of cases of “alleged sexual torture or ill-treatment” of Palestinian male prisoners detained by Israel.
The article, ‘Sexual torture of Palestinian men by Israeli authorities’, claims to be “a first in the investigation of torture and ill-treatment of a sexual nature, allegedly carried out by Israeli security authorities on Palestinian men.”
The study’s findings “show that sexual ill-treatment is systemic”, with 60 testimonies identified over the period 2005-2012. According to the article, “Israeli authorities are systemically involved with torture and ill-treatment of a sexual nature.”
Daniel J.N. Weishut, a clinical psychologist and teaching associate at Bar Ilan University, authored the study based on a database of testimonies gathered by human rights NGO The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI). Weishut is a volunteer member of PCATI’s forensic group.
According to Amnesty International, “Palestinian detainees continued to be tortured and otherwise ill-treated by Israeli security officials, particularly Internal Security Agency officials, who frequently held detainees incommunicado during interrogation for days and sometimes weeks.”
Categories of sexual torture and ill-treatment | |
| Number of Incidents | |
| Verbal sexual harassment | 36 |
| Verbal sexual humiliation | 8 |
| Threats of sexual harm | 14 |
| Verbal sexual humiliation (family) | 9 |
| Threats of sexual harm (family) | 5 |
| Forced nudity | 35 |
| Forced nudity (partial) | 16 |
| Forced nudity (complete) | 19 |
| Physical sexual assault | 6 |
| Hits/kicks to genitals | 4 |
| Simulated rape | 1 |
| Rape with object | 1 |
| Total | 77 |
Methods used included “physical assault such as slapping and throttling, prolonged shackling and stress positions, sleep deprivation, and threats against the detainee and their family.” Amnesty concluded: “The authorities failed to take adequate steps either to prevent torture or to conduct independent investigations when detainees alleged torture, fuelling a climate of impunity.”
Weishut describes “torture and ill-treatment of detained Palestinians” by Israeli officials as “prevalent”, despite Israel’s ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture, prohibition of “the use of several forms of torture”, and “laws against (sexual) harassment and abuse.”
Israeli interrogators, however, are officially permitted to use “exceptional” interrogation methods and “physical pressure” in so-called “ticking bomb” situations. Many believe that this ‘exception’ is used “much too broadly” and “de facto institutionalizes torture by Israeli authorities.”
In addition, while victims can go to court and be compensated “if torture were established”, in practice, “torture allegations are dismissed without criminal investigation or rejected and perpetrators are cleared, though in rare cases soldiers are punished through a disciplinary system.”
Such impunity is grimly familiar. An Israeli military examination of 400 incidents of suspected breaches of the law during 2009’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’ led to just three indictments; the harshest sentence was given to a soldier who stole a credit card. When it comes to settler violence in the West Bank, the probability that a Palestinian complaint will produce a conviction is just 1.9 percent.
According to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, cited in the study, torture is:
any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
Weishut’s study aimed “at identifying sexual violence against male Palestinian detainees to reveal the extent and nature of sexual violence and ill treatment among collected reports, as one component in a broader frame of torture perpetrated by Israeli authorities.”
The majority of the Palestinian victims (43 percent) were aged 20-29 at the time of the incident; 15 percent were minors. Testimonies included “allegations toward four different categories of perpetrators: a) soldiers and border police officers (25 reports), b) secret service officers (25 reports), c) police officers (8 reports), and d) jail officers (9 reports).”
Weishut divided the incidents into three categories: verbal sexual harassment, forced nudity, and sexual assault (60 testimonies indicated incidents of sexual torture or ill-treatment, but as some of these testimonies included more than one such incident, a total of 77 incidents were identified).
According to the author, “verbal sexual harassment seems relatively widespread among Israeli security authorities”, including “verbal sexual harassment in general, threats of rape, sexual humiliation with regard to family members and threats toward family members.” Most of these cases “involved secret service officers, trying to get a confession.”
“And he said […] if you will talk and sign on everything that we’ll tell you, we’ll treat you nice and well, and if not, we’ll f**k your sister.” (age 15, perpetrator: secret service)“One of the interrogators said ‘if you don’t confess, I’ll put my foot into your a*s.’ […] One of the two interrogators had an electric lamp with cables and told me ‘if you don’t confess, I’ll put these electricity cables in your a*s’. […] I confessed out of fear from the electricity and from putting the cables into my behind.” (age 17, perpetrator: secret service)
Examples of forced nudity included the description by some victims of being interrogated in the nude, while several detainees “recounted being photographed in the nude.” The study notes that “this kind of ill-treatment recalls incidents at Abu Ghraib.”
“When I got off the army jeep at [name place] I was nude like a baby is born, and the soldiers started to take pictures together with me.” (age 23, perpetrator: soldiers)
The study highlights a 2013 article which “concluded that sexual humiliation is considered a form of psychological torture, with many victims painfully reliving memories of sexual insults and threats. Forced nudity, which strips a person of his/her identity and puts him/her in a shameful position and at risk of assault, was suggested as comparable to sexual assault.”
The Istanbul Protocol is a set of international guidelines for the investigation and documentation of torture and its consequences; it became an official UN document in 1999. The guidelines state that “verbal sexual threats, abuse and mocking are also part of sexual torture”, and that “nudity enhances the psychological terror of every aspect of torture.”
Weishut’s study also includes reports of sexual assault, with “hits to the testicles…described by several victims.” One testimony concerned simulated rape.
“One of the undercover soldiers lay down on me and started to caress my bottom as if he was having sex with me and he started to move his hips and genitals while making sounds. At that point I tried to fight him with all my strength, but my hands were tight behind me and I wasn’t able to. When this undercover soldier got up from me, another came and he too started to caress me and my genitals and buttocks. He tried to take off my trousers, but I kicked him with my feet and they then hit me on all parts of my body with their hands and feet.” (age 26, perpetrator: soldiers)
Of all cases reviewed in this study, an incident in 2007 “of an actual rape with a blunt object” is the only case “in which the victim’s complaint was not rejected outright by the authorities.” According to the study, “at the time of writing this article, it is still in court.”
While the study highlights 60 specific incidents, according to the author “it is expected that the actual number of sexual torture and ill-treatment is much higher.” There have been “no convictions of perpetrators” based on these testimonies.
Published first by Middle East Monitor.
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