E/CN.4/1994/31 page 75 Information received from the Government on cases included in previous reports 356. On 20 January 1993 the Government transmitted information on the case of I’taf Daoud Hussein I’Elian who, according to the information received by the Special Rapporteur, had been kept in an isolation cell at the Tel Mund central prison for three and a half years and denied medical care. The Government stated that neither physical punishment nor torture of any kind had been inflicted upon Ms. I’Elian at any time during her detention in the Prisons Service facility. Ms. I’Elian, a member of the terrorist organization known as the Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), had refused to observe the rules and regulations governing the conduct of prison inmates. Nevertheless, there was no basis for the reports that she had been held in solitary confinement for three and a half years, or for any similarly extended period. In a periodic medical visit, Prisons Service doctors had diagnosed a deviated nasal septum and recommended an operation be carried out in the near future at a suitable hospital (Ms. I’Elian had undergone an earlier nasal operation about two years previously). Ms. I’Elian at one point proclaimed a hunger strike. However, daily medical examinations, which were customary in such cases, revealed the fact of her being fed in secret by her inmate colleagues. At this point the prisoner terminated her "hunger strike". 357. With regard to the code of medical ethics, the Government quoted the report issued by the Israeli Medical Association (No. 29962 of 13 September 1992): (a) Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross regularly visit the prison and there have been no specific complaints; (b) Ten inmates (among them Ms. I’Elian) agreed to be examined by a physician member of the Israeli Medical Association (not in the presence of the prison’s medical team). In Ms. I’Elian’s case, there were no medical findings other than a deviated septum. (c) In its report, the Israeli Medical Association also noted the general conditions prevailing in the prison: the inmates were accommodated in rooms of six beds; the food was identical to that served to women-soldiers in the Israeli Defence Forces; and every room was equipped with a television set. The prison had a library providing inmates with reading material, as well as study material for those inmates wishing to prepare for academic examinations. Observations 358. The Special Rapporteur notes that in the past two years the Government has so far only responded to one case, namely, one that was the basis of an urgent appeal. The Special Rapporteur is aware of the difficulties faced by the security forces during the prolonged occupation. He hopes recent political developments will materially affect the situation. Nevertheless, he is concerned about the numerous reports of ill-treatment frequently amounting to torture, as well as allegations of medical personnel involvement in procedures requiring them to certify prisoners as fit for interrogation where such treatment is used.