released the following day without charge. Amnesty International interviewed him on 20 March. The account he gave of his ill-treatment was similar to many others heard by the organization.
* Jamal Issa, who was arrested on 8 March and released six days later without charge or even interrogation, described the first 24 hours of his detention: "We stayed the night at the District Coordination Office, about 60 of us,handcuffed and blindfolded, treated as terrorists and humiliated. We asked to go to the toilet and they refused it."
During "Operation Defensive Shield" in 29 March 2002 more than 6000 Palestinians were arrested. Scores of detainees were reportedly stripped to their underclothes on arrest and forced to remain in their underclothes for hours or even days. Released detainees from Jenin interviewed by Amnesty International delegates in Rumaneh village gave a consistent account of their treatment at the hands of IDF soldiers. They reported having been ordered to strip to their underwear, their hands were clasped behind their backs with plastic handcuffs and they were blindfolded. They were kept like this for up to ten hours.
The use of administrative detention has also greatly increased: In May 2002 the IDF and the State Attorney gave figures ranging from 450 to 990 people in administrative detention compared with the November 2001 figure of 32. Most of those detained since the beginning of April have received administrative detention orders of up to six months.
* Jamal Issa, who was arrested on 8 March and released six days later without charge or even interrogation, described the first 24 hours of his detention: "We stayed the night at the District Coordination Office, about 60 of us,handcuffed and blindfolded, treated as terrorists and humiliated. We asked to go to the toilet and they refused it."
During "Operation Defensive Shield" in 29 March 2002 more than 6000 Palestinians were arrested. Scores of detainees were reportedly stripped to their underclothes on arrest and forced to remain in their underclothes for hours or even days. Released detainees from Jenin interviewed by Amnesty International delegates in Rumaneh village gave a consistent account of their treatment at the hands of IDF soldiers. They reported having been ordered to strip to their underwear, their hands were clasped behind their backs with plastic handcuffs and they were blindfolded. They were kept like this for up to ten hours.
The use of administrative detention has also greatly increased: In May 2002 the IDF and the State Attorney gave figures ranging from 450 to 990 people in administrative detention compared with the November 2001 figure of 32. Most of those detained since the beginning of April have received administrative detention orders of up to six months.