Last week, the UN special rapporteur on torture visited the Israeli towns attacked on 7 October 2023.
As rumors that a ceasefire deal was near swirled in the media, Alice Jill Edwards reiterated her call for the “immediate and unconditional release of the hostages” held in Gaza since that date.
“This is an unlawful act under international law. It’s an atrocity. It’s a war crime,” she said.
Edwards told Reuters that she “had written to the Palestinian Authority about independent and verifiable reports of sexual torture and violence that occurred,” the agency reported, paraphrasing the UN expert.
Edwards added that she would speak to Israeli officials about allegations of torture and abuse of Palestinians in its detention centers.
But Palestinian human rights groups say that Edwards has ignored their extensive documentation of the “widespread use of sexual violence as a form of torture against Palestinian prisoners and detainees.” …..more
