Israel took steps today in several ways to seek the liberation of more Israelis held in Syrian prisons and to obtain objective, international investigations into the manner in which Israelis free by the Syrians Saturday had been tortured. The actions followed the weekend exchange of prisoners in which 18 Syrians were released by Israel for II Israelis held by the Syrians.
Israel requested the military observers of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization to check the reports received from the Israeli returnees that at least four more Israelis are in Syrian jails now. At the same time steps were being prepared to lodge a similar request with Secretary-General U Thant at United Nations headquarters in New York. One of the Israeli returnees provided the names of four Israelis still being held by the Damascus authorities.
Meanwhile, Israel requested the International Red Cross to probe into the manner in which Syria had mistreated those who were freed this weekend. Seven of the II returnees have been shown, as a result of medical examinations and interrogations, to be “grave mental cases,” Government circles said. All seven of these men, it was said, had been in Syrian hospitals prior to their release.
The Red Cross was requested to send qualified medical personnel here immediately to examine the returnees, Israel informed the Red Cross headquarters at Geneva that the Israelis had been subjected to “most inhuman” treatment and to torture.
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