Soldier urinates on a detainee

In a sworn statement, detainee Mahmoud Taleb Amro, 32, from Doura village, west of Hebron, testified that a soldier in Al Damoun detention urinated on him while he was is his cell, and sexually harassed him.

Amro is 32 years old, and a father of five children.

“I am in Al Damoun detention, placed room number 7 along with seven other detainees from several Palestinian areas”, Amro said.

The incident took place last Friday, 2/9/2005, approximately at 16h30;

“My friend Fayez and I distributed the food to the detainees, and then I entered my room and started watching TV, shortly after that Fayez entered the room and told me that he wants a pen for the jailor Saleh Habka, 35, but I did not know where the pen was, so I told him that I don’t know where it is at the moment”.

“One minute later Fayez returned and told me that Saleh wants me in his office, I went there immediately and he was very angry, accusing me of rejecting to give him the pen, but I told him that I couldn’t find it, and even if I did, it is my pen and I need it”.

Saleh was angry and ordered Amro to go back to his room.

Several minutes passed, the jailor, Saleh ( a Druze soldier), called Amro and asked him to wear the prison clothes.

“And so I did, I thought he wants me to return the plates to the kitchen because we are not allowed to enter it with normal clothes”, Amro said, “But then Saleh called on another soldier and told him to take me to the inner cell”.

Amro was taken to the cell by the other soldier, known as Trudy, and then he claimed that he wants to search him. At that moment Saleh came to the cell and starting cursing Amro, and told him that he wants to punish him for rejecting to give him the pen.

“Saleh and Trudy closed the cell room and left, but after 15 minutes, Saleh came back with another soldier and took me to a cell which had a bed in it”, Amro said, “They ordered me to lay on my back, tied my hands and legs to the bed and left after Saleh told him to”.

“At that moment, he unzipped he pants and started to urinate on me, on my face and head, I started to scream and make noise hoping that someone would hear the noise, and rescue me”.

 

Yet, it seems that this “punishment” wasn’t’ enough, Saleh tried to place his penis on Amro’s mouth.

“It did touch my mouth, but I kept turning my head away, and then he placed his hands on my neck and tried to strangle me”.

Amro screamed load and started hitting the bed with his hand and legs until other Druze soldiers came to the room, saw what is going on, and untied him.

One hour later, five Druze soldiers came to Amro’s room and asked him not to file charges against Saleh.

“They even tried to make me swear on the Holy Koran, that I will not file charges, they told me he has children, and he will lose his job if I file charges”, Amro said, “But I refused, and told them that I did not do anything to be humiliated this way”. 

One hour later, the head of the detention facility, Hakmoun, 50 years old, came to the prison and listened to my story, and I was sent back to my cell.

On Saturday, Mahmoud Mansour, a social worker, came to me and told me that he will make sure that Saleh is prosecuted, and transferred me to the prison’s clinic where I remained for one day, before I was transferred to another branch in the detention facility.