Journalist says he was hung from the ceiling by his wrists with his toes off the ground for six hours
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/4/2024) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on domestic and international organizations defending press freedom to speak out against the alleged torture of a Palestinian journalist by the far-right Israeli government.
Diaa Al-Kahlout, a Palestinian journalist from Gaza working for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper, says he was subjected torture and ill-treatment to during his 33 days in Israeli detention.
Al-Kahlout says he was denied medical treatment and subjected to physical and psychological violence, including the “shabeh,” a “common torture technique whereby a person is hung from ceiling from his wrists so that his toes become off the ground.”
After his release Al-Kahlout wrote: “There were other detainees next to me hung in the shabeh position as well, and I could identify that one of them was my relative (Mohsen al-Kahlout). I was left hanging the shabeh position for six hours, causing me terrible pain, especially in the shoulders and back since I suffer from herniated disk.”
One night during his detention, “the soldiers made a barbecue feast for themselves during which they swore at the detainees and forced some of them to chant ‘long live Israel.’”
The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that as of Feb. 2, at least 85 journalists and media workers are among the more than 27,000 killed by Israel since Oct. 7. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has accused Israel of detaining thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and subjecting them to mistreatment that “could amount to torture.”
In a statement, CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said:
“If Diaa Al-Kahlout represented a Western media outlet, his alleged torture would rightly cause international outrage and calls for action. But because of the systematic and decades-long dehumanization of Palestinians and the resulting denial of their human rights, the far-right Israeli government fears no repercussions from torturing and abusing a journalist.
“We call on all organizations and entities defending press freedom in our nation and worldwide to speak out and hold Israel accountable for this torture of a journalist and for all the many war crimes it carries out on a daily basis in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Hooper noted that last month, CAIR called on the Biden administration to condemn the far-right Israeli government’s latest targeted murder of journalists in Gaza. Also last month, condemned “Israeli war crimes of the day” in Gaza, including eyewitness reports of the execution of civilians by Israeli forces, reports of the “torture” of detainees and the ongoing desecration of cemeteries.
He added that CAIR recently welcomed a declaration by a federal court in California that Israel’s on Gaza “plausibly” amounts to genocide, despite dismissing a case calling for an end to military support for Israel as being outside the court’s jurisdiction.
CAIR also welcomed a preliminary ruling by the ICJ, the UN’s principal judicial body, that declares South Africa’s charge of genocide against the Israeli government plausible.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com