‘Abd al-Samad Harizat, a Palestinian, was arrested by members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) on the night of April 21-22, 1995, on suspicion of membership of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas. Three days later he was dead. Autopsy and police investigation reports confirm that he died as a result of a brain haemorrhage caused by being violently shaken in detention. Israel has ratified the UN International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture yet shaking is still used as an instrument of torture by the Israeli authorities. AI calls on the Israeli Government to ensure that all methods of torture are prohibited by law. It also requests arrangement of medical examinations of all detainees who have been violently shaken and to offer them any necessary follow-up medical care.
