Solitary confinement and isolation during interrogation

Following the September 1999 Israeli High Court of Justice decision in The Public Committee Against Torture v. The Government of Israel, in which the Court ruled that some of the interrogation methods used by the General Security Service against Palestinian detainees were illegal, alternative, non-physical methods of interrogation – not necessarily in accordance with the Court’s decision –, began to be used more frequently. One of such methods is solitary confinement.

According to Israeli military law, security authorities may hold a detainee for interrogation without charge for up to 188 days, and may prohibit a detainee from meeting with a lawyer for up to 90 days. Delayed access may also apply to meetings with ICRC representatives, who are authorized by international agreements to visit Palestinian detainees who are under interrogation. The detainee is thus completely disconnected from the outside world for a prolonged duration. Solitary confinement is thus often used as a means of pressure and coercion into forced confessions.