Israeli military prison
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Like any military prison, the Israeli version is a prison for guarding soldiers who committed crimes during their service. It is estimated that 15-18,000 Israeli soldiers (not to be confused with Palestinian detainees) go through an Israeli military prison or detention center every year.
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[edit] Statistics
Below are the statistics for the two main prisons for Israeli soldiers (Prison 4 and Prison 6)
| Year | Prisoners |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 15,651 |
| 2003 | 14,638 |
| 2004 | 14,056 |
| 2005 | 14,400 |
| 2006 | 14,620 |
[edit] Prison 4
Prison 4 (a.k.a. confinement base 394) is the largest Israeli military prison, located in Tzrifin. Every soldier who is not an officer or military policeman, and who does not serve in the Israeli Northern Command, goes to Prison 4.
[edit] History
Prison 4 was founded soon after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and absorbed prisoners from the provisional jail set up in northern Tel Aviv beforehand. It suffered great neglect during the 1950s due to the Suez Crisis and a lack of funding, and it was decided to build another prison, Prison 6, to take the load of prisoners off Prison 4 and thereby improve the conditions of the current prisoners.
[edit] Structure
The prison is comprised of five companies:
- Company Alef (א) - for prisoners serving sentences of 28 days or less, or those who have less than 28 days till their release. This is an open company, i.e. prisoners sleep in an open (but guarded) area, and not in jail cells.
- Company Bet (ב) - for long-time convicts, usually with sentences above 100 days. Company Bet is known for its harsh living conditions.
- Company Gimel (ג) - for detainees awaiting trial, new prisoners, and some serving medium sentences. Contains the isolation wing (agaf habodedim).
- Platoon Dalet
- Company 400 - formerly a separate prison, company 400 is the women's company, and contains all female prisoners.
[edit] Platoon Dalet
Platoon Dalet (ד) is an open platoon (formerly a separate company, now under Company Gimel) and the least strict of any of the other sections of the prison. While technically intended for reservists, there are two other classes of soldiers who may serve their sentences there. Soldiers aged 22 and above may request placement in Platoon Dalet, as may soldiers serving in the Nahal Haredi, a battalion made up of Haredi soldiers. The reason for the latter group of soldiers is that females do not serve as jail instructors in Platoon Dalet, thereby minimizing the Haredi soldiers' exposure to women.
Soldiers in Platoon Dalet have a lot of free time during the day, and have access to television and a DVD player (in Prison 6 this includes satellite TV as well). Apart from the much lighter overall atmosphere, another difference between Dalet and the other sections is that they eat with a full set of silverware. This, in contrast to the other sections' soldiers who only receive spoons at meals.
[edit] Prison 6
Prison 6 (a.k.a. confinement base 396) is a smaller prison, located near Atlit and the Oren Junction.
[edit] History
Prison 6 was founded following the 1956 Suez War when it was decided that Prison 4's conditions were too poor and could be improved by lowering its amount of prisoners.
On November 22, 1969, Prison 6 was flooded due to a powerful rainstorm, and the water level rose to 2 m. Even though the prison's security was compromised when both jailors and prisoners tried to keep the water out, no prisoner used the opportunity to escape. As a result, the general of the Manpower Directorate (now Human Resources Directorate), which is responsible for the entire Israeli military police including its prisons, decided to release dozens of prisoners and cancel their sentences.
In 1997, Prison 6 suffered a rebellion in Company Gimel, where several prisoners took control of the prison's dining room and captured several jail instructors and their sergeant. After negotiations, an agreement was reached between the prisoners and the chief officer of the military police (kamtzar) to release the hostages in exchange for better conditions for the prisoners. The agreement was immediately revoked and the prisoners received greater sentences and were transferred to a civilian prison. The rebellion was predicted by the intelligence gatherers of the prison, but the command did not heed the warning.
The rebellion completely changed the military police's approach to its prison service sector and changed were made in the physical structures of the military prisons, as well as in conditions for both jail instructors and prisoners. Intelligence gatherers also gained prestige and more were recruited.
[edit] Structure
It is comprised of three companies:
- Company Alef - almost identical to Prison 4's Company Alef.
- Company Bet - for new prisoners and those serving medium sentences (1-6 months). Company Bet also has a designated area for officers, civilians working for the army, and military policemen, who committed crimes during their service.
- Company Gimel - similar to Prison 4's Company Bet, but for prisoners with sentences higher than 6 months. It also contains detainees awaiting trial and the isolation wing (afag habodedim).
[edit] Detention centers
In all, there are 10 detention centers operated by the IDF, located in the various military police bases, divided into the three regional commands (northern, central, southern). These detention centers are considered part of the law enforcement sector and are under the command of their respective base commanders.
Each command has its command detention center (Hebrew: מעצר פיקודי ma'atsar pikudi), which has a larger capacity and workforce, and serves as the logistical center for the other dentention centers in the same command.
Detention centers contain prisoners serving very light sentences (below 28 days) and detainees awaiting trial before they are moved to either Prison 4 or Prison 6.
[edit] Northern Command
The Northern Command, a.k.a. command unit 390, contains dentention centers in Military Police Haifa (Camp Jalame), Military Police HaAmakim and Military Police Golan Heights (Camp Filon). These are all considered minor denention centers (MP Haifa being the command center).
[edit] Central Command
The Central Command, a.k.a. command unit 391, contains dentention centers in Military Police Jerusalem (Camp Anatot), Military Police HaSharon (Camp Gur), Military Police Dan (Camp Rabin) and Military Police Yoav (Camp Bar-Lev). Military Police Jerusalem is the command center and has a capacity for 32 prisoners.
[edit] Southern Command
The Southern Command, a.k.a. command unit 392, contains dentention centers in Military Police Beersheba (Camp Nathan), Military Police Urim and Military Police Eilat. Military Police Beersheba is the command center, has a capacity for 32 prisoners, and receives more prisoners than any other detention center.
[edit] Prisoners
[edit] Prisoner types
There are four main types of prisoners in Israeli military jails:
- Havush (pl. havushim) - from a legal point of view, any prisoner who was given a sentence called (mahbosh) by a judging officer (not in a military court), which cannot be above 70 days (and are usually 28 days or below). These are 'light' prisoners who generally committed paltry crimes such as refusing to shave. They are generally the most trusted prisoners and get privileges such as being allowed to work outside the prison or guard it. It is assumed that no havush would run away from prison, since it would greatly increase their sentence and worsen their living conditions.
- Asir (pl. asirim) - any prisoner who has been on trial in a military court and received a sentence called ma'asar. Sometimes only those with a sentence of greater than 100 days are thought to be asirim. These are more serious prisoners, generally involved in drug dealing, excessive violence, and other crimes deemed serious by military standards.
- Atsir lifnei mishpat (Alam) - detainees awating trial, these have usually committed serious crimes which take longer to process. According to IDF law, any soldier must receive a trial within 48 hours of their detention; however, a trial may reach an inconclusive decision, which causes the detainee to remain on hold for a long time (possibly over a year). There are several types of such detainees, most notably deserters (soldiers who did not report to the army for over 45 days). All soldiers arrested by metzah, the investigations department of the military police, are also detainees awaiting trial.
[edit] Prisoner rights and responsibilities
Because all military prisoners in Israel, excluding Palestinian detainees (who have a different set of rights/responsibilities) are subject to IDF law, they receive the same rights and responsibilities as all other IDF soldiers, for example, the right to three meals per day, or the responsibility of following all orders from superiors (except those deemed illegal in a life or death matter). However, being prisoners, they have a set of additional rights and responsibilities which depend on the status of the prisoner, the length of their sentence, etc. Prisoners also have a set of rights that can be taken away by their superiors for bad behavior.
- The responsibility of adjusting to the environment - all military prisoners must adjust to their respective prisons immediately after they are given their first orders. Therefore, no first day excuse is to be accepted.
- The right to see a psychologist and a service conditions NCO - within 48 hours of each prisoner's arrest, he is allowed to see a psychologist and a service conditions NCO. This is unlike regular soldiers who may have to wait up to two weeks to see any of the above.
- The right to see a lawyer - each prisoner in an Israeli military jail who has not yet been given his sentence may set up an appointment with a lawyer, from Sunday to Thursday.
- The right to receive basic provisions - each prisoner has the right to receive a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shaving blade and towel.
[edit] Rights that can be revoked
- The right to canteen money and cigarettes - each prisoner receives 8 NIS per day to buy items from the prison canteen. When the canteen is closed (on Friday and Saturday), the prisoner receives 10 cigarettes per day from the army. Only Israeli-made cigarettes can be smoked in prison and all others (referred to as 'white cigarettes') found are to be revoked immediately. In practice, most light prisoners are allowed any brand of cigarettes.
- The right to make phonecalls - each prisoner has the right to make phonecalls to their close relatives, each lasting no more than 3 minutes. The amount of phonecalls per week varies from 1 to 3, depending on the prison/detention center. In practice, non-Palestinian prisoners generally have unlimited access to a phone (a calling card for which they can bring from home or buy with their canteen money) during their break time, although in some companies this right is more strictly observed.
[edit] Guards
All Israeli military prisons are guarded by the Israeli Military Police. Guards, called prisoner instructors (Hebrew abbreviation: מד"כ madak) are responsible for guiding the prisoners through their daily schedules. Every madak is also considered an IDF commander.
[edit] References
- Chief Military Police Officer professional order #3001
