Sleep deprivation among methods used to torture Palestinian inmates in Israeli jails

On the dawn of July 24, 2018, Israeli soldiers stormed the house of Palestinian writer Lama Khater in the city of Hebron, and arrested her in the presence of her youngest son, Yahia, who was less than 3 years old.

Khater was transferred to Ashqelon interrogation center and there she was exposed to tough interrogation sessions by the officers of the Israeli intelligence for more than a month.

During that time, Khater was forced to stay awake for more than 19 hours day after day to put more pressure on her, particularly after she refused all accusations made against her by the officers.

“When people read about this method, they may believe that it is an easy method, but after (they hear about) my experience, they will prefer another physical torture despite the pain, at least after that they can have a rest,” Khater said.

A mother of five children, Khater spent around 35 days in solitary confinement and she was exposed to daily interrogation sessions under the allegation of participating in social working with Hamas.

She said the sessions were starting at 7 a.m and continued to 2.30 a.m. the other day, lasting for several consecutive days, and that she was not allowed to sleep more than three hours.

“This torture (adversely) affected my health for a long time, even after the end of the interrogation time and leaving the jail,” Khater told Anadolu Agency.

According to Khater, the effects of sleep deprivation lasted during her time in jail and she could never have a deep sleep for more than three months after the end of the interrogation period, along with back and neck pains.

“The sleep deprivation is no worse than the food deprivation. It’s causing serious psychological and neurological problems. At a certain point, I felt like I was unable to differentiate between coma and being awake,” she added.

She stressed that the officers depend on the method of sleep deprivation to put the inmates under the maximum level of exhaustion to force them to confess.

“It seems like a vengeance against the inmate to cause a long-term abuse, and I believe this is the most dangerous issue,” Khater said.

Medically, sleep deprivation induces a sequence of disorders.

According to Beesan Warasneh, a London-based medical doctor and researcher in neuroscience in King's College, these effects are led by the disturbing of an individual's circadian rhythm.

“In the short term, it affects the processing of pain, anxiety, the surrounding stressors. It also impairs memory performance and reduces functionality. Further, it increases the susceptibility to developing depression,” she told Anadolu Agency.

Warasneh highlighted that sleep deprivation in the long term had a proven link to multiple health problems such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, lipid metabolism disorders, and diabetes. It also increases the vulnerability to develop cancer and gastrointestinal problems.

“These consequences occur in healthy people when their circadian cycle is disturbed. Therefore, having other comorbidities such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) or other medical conditions can complicate the consequences further,” Warasneh noted.