Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Israeli Rights Group Accuses Military of Whitewashing Soldiers’ Abuses

 
Reuters, 25/05 15:33 CET

By Luke Baker

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – B’Tselem, one of Israel’s leading human rights groups, said on Wednesday it would no longer refer complaints of abuse carried out by Israeli soldiers to Israeli military courts because the system was biased and set up to whitewash cases.

The group, which has monitored Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and incidents of violence and abuse by soldiers against Palestinians for 25 years, said the military’s legal system was too narrowly defined and served to protect its own.

“B’Tselem will no longer play a part in the pretense posed by the military law enforcement system and will no longer refer complaints to it,” it said in an 80-page report.

“The experience we have gained… has brought us to the realisation that there is no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to continue to cover up unlawful acts and protect perpetrators.”

The Israel Defense Forces said the picture presented by B’Tselem was inaccurate and did not reflect reality. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: euronews.

No comments: