Israel to prosecute police officer who urinated on Palestinian man

The Israeli Supreme Court yesterday ruled that an Israeli police officer who urinated on a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian during interrogations at the Ma’ale Adumim police station in 2007 should go on trial.

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, a decade ago the Palestinian victim complained to the Justice Ministry’s investigation department. He spoke of the physical and sexual abuse he experienced while detained at the police station. However, the department dismissed his case, forcing the victim to petition the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court made the ruling despite being “convinced that the evidence was thoroughly investigated several times,” Haaretz reported. But the judge ruled in favour of the victim “in relation to the charge that the policeman had deliberately urinated on the plaintiff in order to humiliate him.”

The accused policeman only admitted to urinating on the Palestinian detainee after he was told DNA evidence linked him to the act.

According to Haaretz, the policeman said that “after taking the plaintiff to the bathroom, handcuffed and blindfolded, and after the plaintiff had used the bathroom, the policeman asked him to stand by so he could also use the bathroom. He told the plaintiff to bend over and go down on his knees, after which he urinated on him.”