Occupied East Jerusalem– The family of a Palestinian man who died in Israeli custody claimed that he was beaten by the Israeli army in a detention center before his death, citing reports from other detainees and photos released after his death??.

Abdo Yusuf al-Khatib al-Tamimi, 43, died on July 23 at the notorious Moskabiya Detention Center (also known as the Russian Compound) in West Jerusalem.

Al-Tamimi, the married father of four children from Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, was arrested a few days ago for minor traffic violations.

His pregnant wife, Lana, said that the detainee told his family that Tamimi had been beaten by the Israeli army before his death.

“Our family received calls from other prisoners in the adjacent cell in Moskabiya, saying they heard al-Tamimi’s screams and knocks, and then he quieted down,” she told Al Jazeera.

“He was a healthy person when he went to jail and had no health problems.”

Rana’s mother, Amal Taha, stated that according to other prisoners, there had been clashes with prison guards before the alleged attack on her son-in-law.

Taha told Al Jazeera: “Abdu and the three other prisoners have been yelling’Allah Akbar’ because it is Eid al-Adha, and then the guards told them that this is not allowed.”

“My son-in-law quarreled with the guards, and the quarrel escalated to the point that he was separated from three other people and taken to a cell alone, and then the others heard his screams before quieting down.”

Photos posted after his death showed that he had a deep wound on his head, which was subsequently sutured, blood stains on his knees, and large bruises on other parts of his body.

The 43-year-old Abdul Muttaleb Khatib, the father of six children, his family published photos proving that he was tortured to death in the Al Maskubiyyeh Interrogation Center on Wednesday.https://t.co/n4lFymWILW

-QudsNen (@QudsNen) July 23, 2021

The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) announced that he was “found dead” in a cell three days after his arrest.

IPS said in a statement: “Although medical staff tried to resurrect him, they did not succeed and he died on the spot,” IPS said in a statement, adding that it would investigate “like any other such incident” The circumstances of his death.

According to reports, Al-Tamimi’s body was taken to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Occupied East Jerusalem, where an autopsy was performed by the Israeli authorities in the presence of a Palestinian doctor. The autopsy results have not yet been made public.

The family said their request to discuss the autopsy with a senior official in Abu Kabir was rejected by the Israeli authorities.

On July 23, the United Nations Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory expressed “deep concern” over al-Tamimi’s death.

“The United Nations Human Rights Office urges the Israeli authorities to publish an autopsy report and conduct an independent and transparent investigation into Mr. Tamimi’s death.”

According to the Palestinian media Wafa, “Several detainee agencies, including the Detainees and Former Detainees’ Affairs Committee and the Palestinian Prisoners Association, believe that the Israeli occupation authorities are fully responsible for the death of Abdo al-Tamimi.”

History of torture

The Moskabiya Detention Center in Israel has a terrible history of treating and interrogating Palestinian prisoners.

According to Addameer, a Palestinian prisoner organization, since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967, at least 73 Palestinians have been killed during Israeli interrogations in prisons including Moskabiya.

“Despite the absolute prohibition of torture in Article 2 of the International Convention against Torture, which was approved by Israel on October 3, 1991, the torture of Palestinian detainees is still systematic and widespread in Israeli-occupied prisons and interrogation centers. Yes,” Addameer said in a statement. 2020 report.

Israel has consistently denied allegations of abuse of prisoners and torture.

Israeli courts allow the use of what they call “moderate pressure” in situations involving “time bombs” involving imminent security threats.

Addameer said that in 2018 the Israeli High Court relaxed the regulations in this regard, and the case expanded the definition of “time bomb” to include cases that are not an imminent security threat.

According to the Public Committee against Torture of Israel (PCATI), since 2001, more than 1,300 complaints about torture during interrogations in Israel have been filed.

“Reported methods of torture include painful restraint, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme heat and cold, threats, sexual harassment and religious humiliation,” PCATI said.

“Two investigations were conducted, but the Israeli Ministry of Justice did not file any prosecutions and all cases have been closed,” PCATI said.

Addameer was also ordered by Israeli courts for allegedly torturing some detainees, including three months in 2019, when members of the Palestinian armed group People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) took place near Ramallah. The explosion killed one Israeli settler and injured two others.

The Addameer report stated: “This prohibition order was issued to conceal the crime of torture committed against Palestinian detainees held at the al Moskabiya Interrogation Center in Jerusalem.”

One of the interrogated persons was Samer Arbeed, who was transferred to the hospital about 18 days after being interrogated in Moskabiya. His injuries were life-threatening.

According to Addameer, Arbeed then woke up in the hospital with 11 fractured ribs, kidney failure and severe bruises. Before being taken back for more interrogations, he put on a respirator for several weeks, which included the loss of all his nails due to torture.

At the same time, the circumstances surrounding the deaths of many Palestinians in Israeli custody remain clear.

In 2019, the Council of Palestine Human Rights Organizations stated that it held the Israeli authorities responsible for the death of 31-year-old Nasser Taqatqa, who died of pneumonia while being held in solitary confinement in Nitzan Ramle prison on July 16, 2019 .

Taqatqa was arrested at his home in Beit Fajjar one month before his death, and he was interrogated in Moskabiya for most of his detention.

The exact circumstances of his death are not yet known, as neither his family nor his lawyers were allowed access to his body.

“Why are you killing my father?”

At the same time, Al-Tamimi’s family was also distraught and demanded a response.

After the death of her husband, Lana aborted one of her twins who were three months pregnant.

“I love my husband deeply, he is my life, he is an excellent father, and he is very excited about the twins that are about to be born,” Lana said.

Al-Tamimi used to run a grocery store to support his family, and another cruel twist in his fate was that a fire caused by an electrical failure broke out a few days after his death, causing widespread damage to the grocery store and further causing Economic poverty.

Rana’s father, Abdallah Taha, asked angrily who would support his daughter and grandson now.

He told Al Jazeera: “We are also struggling financially, and it is difficult to feed five more people.”

Al-Tamimi’s 12-year-old son Muhammad asked to know the cause of his father’s death.

“I asked the Israelis behind the scenes,’Why did you kill my father? What did he do that should be killed?'”