|
Denmark says Israeli Envoy Immune from Torture Allegations
COPENHAGEN, July 25 (News Agencies) - The Danish government said Wednesday that Israel's newly-named ambassador, a former Israeli security chief, would enjoy diplomatic immunity and would not be pursued on allegations that he violated U.N. anti-torture rules when he takes up his post here.
"It is the foreign ministry's assessment that the Vienna convention's provisions on special rules for diplomatic representatives take precedence over the general rules in the U.N.'s torture convention," Justice Minister Frank Jensen said in a written statement sent to AFP.
"I accept that view," the statement said.
Earlier Wednesday, the respected Danish daily Berlingske Tidende quoted Jensen as saying that the new Israeli envoy, Carmi Gillon, could face immediate arrest when he arrives here next month to take up his post in September, under the terms of the U.N. anti-torture convention.
"The ministry can confirm that, according to Article 6.1 of the convention, there can occur an obligation for the states to detain persons suspected of having participated in, attempted or assisted in torture," the daily quoted Jensen as saying in reference to Gillon.
That assertion was contained in a written response from Jensen to a question from a member of the Danish legislature regarding the status of the future Israeli envoy, the newspaper said.
Gillon was quoted recently by Danish media as saying that he favored application of "moderate physical pressure" on detained Palestinian terrorism suspects, a method declared illegal by the Israeli Supreme Court two years ago.
His appointment has sparked an uproar in Denmark and several international human rights groups have called on the Danish government to reject his appointment and ask Israel to withdraw his nomination.
According to the U.S., - based Human Rights Watch, Gillon was directly involved in about 100 cases of torture of Palestinians as head of the General Security Service's headquarters branch, then of the entire organization, between 1993 and 1996.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres however on Tuesday defended Gillon's nomination, describing the former Shin Beth security service chief as a "notable champion of peace."
"We appointed as ambassador to Denmark a man who is thoroughly familiar with the terrible dilemmas sometimes posed by matters of national security and who has not lost his faith in peace," Peres said.
Denmark is among the many states that have signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which came into force as international law on June 26, 1987.
In his statement, Jensen seemed to stand by his earlier interpretation of Denmark's obligations under that convention, as reported by Berlingske Tidende.
"What was reported in the press means that Denmark can stop the Israeli ambassador from coming to Denmark," his statement said.
The justice ministry had however consulted on the issue with the foreign ministry and accepted the latter's judgment that the Vienna convention, which extends immunity from legal action to diplomats, took precedence over the U.N. anti-torture agreement, the statement said.
On Tuesday, a Palestinian political detainee tortured at an Israeli occupation detention camp was reported to have gone mad, according to a human rights organization based in the occupied West Bank town of Nablus.
The organization, the International Solidarity Society for Human Rights (ISSHR), said in a statement issued Monday that Jalal Abdul Jabbar, interned without charge or trial for six months, is suffering from "grave mental and psychological disorders" due to severe psychological and physical torture by Israeli soldiers, news agencies reported.
Abdul Jabbar, from the village of Jalgamous near Jenin, was detained in February on suspicions that he took part in anti-Israeli protests, the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, reported.
The ISSHR statement said Israeli prison authorities not only refused to provide medical and psychological counseling for Abdul Jabbar, but also placed him in solitary confinement - which is likely to exacerbate his already grave condition.
Israel often treats non-Jewish inmates as "sub-human beings", denying them basic human rights and subjecting them to many forms of psychological and physical torture, the group said.
Many of Israel's current government officials have been engaged in torture activities against Palestinian civilians, Middle East based human rights groups say.
|
