War on Terror

How countries around the world treat terrorists: A global comparison

The War on Terror is being fought across the globe without a fixed set of rules. Haaretz assesses six countries' treatment of terror suspects.

By Alona Ferber and Patrick Wehner | Dec. 29, 2014 | 5:20 PM

Global Terrorism Index 2014.

Since 9/11, countries around the world have toughened their counterterror strategies. The recent release of findings from a U.S. Senate report on the CIA’s interrogation methods also was a stark reminder of the controversial tactics employed in the War on Terror.

But what happens elsewhere in the world? In many places, we must rely on state media reports and rights groups for information about what happens in their prison cells and court rooms. Then there's the fact that the term “terrorist” itself is sometimes a politicized one.

Haaretz takes a brief look at six countries, including Israel, and compares the treatment of those the respective authorities designate as terrorists.

Israel

Israel’s summer began with the kidnapping and murder of three teenagers, and continued with the Gaza war. What followed was a spate of lone wolf terror attacks, where everyday objects made everyday activities potentially deadly. The government’s response, and rhetoric, has been tough.

The policy of punitive house demolitions – discontinued in 2005 – was reinstated, and the residency of East Jerusalem Palestinians has been revoked over attacks.

Responding to a High Court of Justice petition by rights groups against demolition, the state justified razing only the homes of Arabs and not Jews, saying there was no need to demolish Jewish homes because there is no need to deter potential Jewish perpetrators.

Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commissioned a counterterror plan, which included, among other things, criminalizing the waving of “enemy flags,” including that of the Palestinian Authority.

With the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) in mind, ministers approved a bill in October to jail for five years any Israelis found guilty of fighting in foreign terror groups.

And earlier this year, ministers introduced a number of terror-related laws. One example, which received final Knesset approval in November, is a law preventing the release of Palestinian prisoners convicted of “Murder under extraordinarily severe circumstances” – a new category introduced by the law – as part of any future political agreement or prisoner swap.

Regarding detention, Israel can hold “unlawful combatants” – usually Gaza residents – without judicial review for up to 14 days. Detention can be renewed every six months by a judge.

Both “unlawful combatants” and Israeli detainees suspected of security offenses can be barred from seeing a lawyer for 21 days. Israel’s army can also stop Palestinians in administrative detention from accessing an attorney.

In October, Israel was holding 470 Palestinians in administrative detention, according to Israel Prison Service data cited by B’Tselem.

The U.S. Senate report cited an “Israeli example” as possible justificationfor harsh interrogation methods. This refers to Supreme Court rulings forbidding Israel’s security services from using torture, but allowing “moderate physical pressure” in cases where there is an urgent need to obtain information that could prevent an attack.

Russia

Russia has cracked down on insurgency in the restive North Caucasus region since the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. Suicide bombings were a regular feature following the Second Chechen War in the late 1990s, and with the spread of jihadi ideology, rebels today want to establish an Islamic State.

Following a suicide attack in Russia’s Volgograd in October 2013 by awoman from Dagestan – the epicenter of the Islamist insurgency – the following month the Kremlin enacted the “Compensation for Terrorist Acts Law,” a series of amendments to existing counterterrorism legislation. These increased sentences for terror-related offenses, imposed fines and enabled the state to seize assets of suspected terrorists, their families, or those “close” to them – a vague term – to be used as compensation for terror victims.

Justified by the Russian authorities as an attempt to break up the local ethnic clan system, which can be a challenge for law enforcement, rights groups say this is a form of collective punishment, according to the U.S. State Department.

Under Russian law, terror suspects can be detained for up to 30 days without charge. The European Court of Human Rights has held Russia responsible for various rights violations in the North Caucasus region in relation to counterterrorism. These include unprosecuted abuses by local law enforcement such as alleged torture, abduction-style detentions, and attacks against suspects and their families. Amnesty International alsorecently slammed Chechen authorities for carrying out punitive home demolitions...

Read more at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.634334