On July 25, 2016, the High Court of Justice (HCJ) held a
hearing on HaMoked’s petition to instruct the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to improve the detention conditions at the Israel Security Agency (ISA) interrogee wing in Shikma Prison, Ashkelon. On the justices’ instruction, HaMoked focused its arguments on two issues: the need for setting apart the toilet area from the rest of the cell space, and the problem of overall hygiene in the holding cells. The HCJ instructed the state to explore options of improving the sanitary conditions and respond to the arguments by early 2017.
On January 17, 2017, the
state announced that the installation of doors within the cells separating the toilet area from the rest of the cell had been
completed in all ISA interrogation facilities. The state dismissed the more hygienic solution of installing toilets outside the holding cells, claiming that “implementing this suggestion would considerably increase the amount of time security detainees spend outside the cells… which might cause a substantial risk to the security of those charged with operating the detention facility”.
As to the issue of general hygiene in the cells, the state repeated its claim that while it was customary to make cleaning the responsibility of the inmates, the holding cells were cleaned daily by a “cleaning person”.
Therefore, the
court deleted the petition on HaMoked’s consent, reserving HaMoked’s right to petition the court anew, if necessary.
