E/CN.4/2001/66 page 125 638. Raed Ahmed El-Hamari, from Bethlehem, was reportedly arrested on 22 August 1999. He was taken by GSS interrogators to the Russian Compound and interrogated there for the following 60 days. He was allegedly interrogated in the shabeh position, deprived of sleep and kept in solitary confinement. After going on hunger strike for six days it is understood that he was treated at the Kupat-Holim hospital but was not hospitalized. His interrogation was resumed after his treatment and after a further three days tied to a chair in the shabeh position, he was transferred to a cell known as “asfir” to be interrogated by Palestinian collaborators. He was allegedly forced to crouch in a closed-off corner of the cell. He was threatened with a knife and prevented from eating or using the toilet. After a period of some 10 days, during which he remained in the corner, he was attacked by three collaborators who burned his left arm and shoulder with cigarettes. He then agreed to confess and was returned to the GSS interrogation room, whereupon he was interrogated for a further 20 days. 639. Mohammed Naim Sweiti was allegedly arrested on 9 January 2000, following which he was reportedly interrogated by the GSS at the Russian Compound in Jerusalem until approximately 15 March 2000. He was reportedly denied access to a lawyer for 36 days. During the first days of his detention he was said to have been beaten, particularly on his stomach. He was kept in solitary confinement and was interrogated whilst forced to sit in the shabeh position. 640. Hussam Mohammed Bushnak, from Jenin, was allegedly beaten following his arrest by the Nazareth police on 5 January 2000. 641. Lafi Ali-Rajabi was reportedly arrested around July 1999 whilst attending the court hearing of one of his relatives in Ramleh. On 14 January 2000 it is believed that Al-Rajabi had contact with his family by telephone, during the course of which he expressed concerns about his personal safety. A few hours later his family was informed by the authorities that he had killed himself. His body was reportedly transferred to the Abu Kabir institute for an autopsy and was subsequently delivered to the family on 17 January 2000. The body reportedly showed signs of ante mortem torture, including bruising and ligature marks around the neck. 642. Ashraf Amin Taufiq Hamed was reportedly arrested on 18 November 1999. He was allegedly held in solitary confinement and interrogated on three occasions whilst in the shabeh position. 643. Ramez Fayez Mohamed Rashid, from the El Nusseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, was reportedly arrested in February 2000 and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for entering Israel without the required permit. He was reportedly detained in El Nafha prison. On 9 August 2000, he is believed to have received a visit from his father and is alleged to have been in reasonable health. However, he reportedly died some two days later. The cause of his death has allegedly not been made public. 644. By the same letter, the Special Rapporteur reminded the Government of a number of cases transmitted in 1999 regarding which no reply had been received.