A Palestinian journalist has provided testimony describing sexual assault and torture endured while held in Israeli detention facilities, according to the Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC). Identified under the pseudonym “Yahya” to protect his family, he said the attacks took place at the Sde Teiman detention camp, where he and seven other detainees were taken to an isolated area and subjected to collective sexual violence.

The journalist described being restrained, blindfolded, and held under inhumane conditions in the presence of Israeli soldiers, some of whom allegedly recorded and mocked the assaults. He said the attack lasted approximately three minutes, resulting in severe psychological trauma consistent with acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which left him unable to function normally for more than two months.

Yahya spent 20 months in Israeli prisons, including three months at Sde Teiman and one month at Ofer, during which he said he endured systematic torture designed to break detainees both physically and psychologically. Methods described included harsh interrogations, shackling, transport in military vehicles, sleep deprivation, starvation, denial of medical care, electric shocks, religious insults, extreme overcrowding, and witnessing deaths of other detainees. He said the abuse intensified after authorities discovered he was a journalist, accusing him of spreading “misleading information” and threatening life sentences due to his media work.

The PJPC confirmed that the sexual assault and broader abuses meet the definitions of rape and sexual torture under the Convention Against Torture (1984), constitute war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute, and could amount to crimes against humanity if proven systematic. The centre highlighted that the use of dogs in sexual assault is among the most prohibited forms of torture worldwide, aimed at degrading and psychologically destroying victims.

The journalist had been arrested during a raid on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City on 18 March 2024 while performing his duties wearing a press vest and carrying a camera. The PJPC called for the crimes to be included in submissions to the International Criminal Court, for urgent independent investigation, prosecution of those responsible under universal jurisdiction, immediate medical and psychological care for victims, and protection of witnesses.

Yahya described the overall experience as devastating: “We entered these prisons alive, and we left them with broken bodies and shattered souls… Whoever didn’t die inside came out forever broken.” The PJPC stressed that these testimonies form part of accumulating evidence of systematic torture in Israeli detention facilities, calling for international criminal accountability.