Defense Minister Shimon Peres demanded today that those responsible for torturing Israeli prisoners of war in Syria be brought to trial. Speaking to the Knesset, Peres described tortures suffered by Israeli POWs and said that as soon as the government completes its investigation of the acts of cruelty committed by the Syrians it will publish a full report.
Peres charged Syria with not only violating the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners, but also acting in a way that “is beneath any human standards in peace or war.” He said that the Chief Medical Officer in his preliminary report found:
“The overall picture obtained is that the vast majority of prisoners were exposed during their imprisonment to severe physical and mental torture. The usual methods of torture were beatings aimed at various parts of the body, electric shocks, wounds deliberately inflicted on the ears, burns on the legs, suspension in painful positions and other methods.”
ISRAELI MD REFUTES SYRIAN POW CHARGE
Meanwhile, Dr. Daniel Reis, chief of orthopedics and accident service at the Rebecca Sieff Government Hospital in Safad, has refuted accusations by a former Syrian POW that he was maltreated in an Israeli hospital. In a letter to Col. Adnan Hoder. Dr. Reis wrote that “You owe your life to the energetic treatment you received both in the field and in our hospital.” Referring to the Syrian officer’s accusation that his leg was amputated unnecessarily, Dr. Reis wrote. “I hardly think you would have liked to die from gangrene of your dead left leg. As it is now, you have two excellent below knee stumps and with practice you will be able to walk and lead a useful life.”
The doctor said while he did not expect gratitude and realized the severity of the colonel’s injury, “I still require you to behave as an officer and gentleman.”
Peers accused the Syrians of firing point blank at pilots as they were bailing out and at unarmed soldiers who had surrendered, of not releasing the names of the POWs for over four months and keeping them in overcrowded prisons without adequate ventilation, providing poor food and bad medical treatment.
TORTURES KILL TWO POWS, MAIM FIVE
Peers said two soldiers died and five soldiers were maimed as a result of tortures which included electric shocks applied to the sensitive parts of the body, extractions of nails, blows to the body beatings and whippings and hitting open wounds.
It was reported that the government is already preparing a “Black Book.” detailing the mistreatment of the POWs, to be released soon in several languages. Officials said completion of the Black Book awaits full debriefing of the POWs by army doctors. The Defense Minister said that there was no proof that representatives of any foreign power took an active part in the interrogations.
Peers said the attempt by Syria to trump up entirely unfounded charges concerning the treatment of the Syrian POWs in Israel would not weaken the power of truth or mitigate the appalling cruelty of the Syrians. The Keenest adopted a resolution, with only the Rajah Communists in opposition, calling on the government to publish the facts of the mistreatment of the POWs and make them known throughout the world.
Many of the returned POWs watched the Keenest debate from the gallery. Looking up at them, Peers said “Their capture, their imprisonment and their return have renewed our feelings of being a united people, a people which can unite in times of hardship and anxiety.” The POWs were later taken to lunch by Keenest Speaker Israel Yeshayahu.
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