HOUSING AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
In accordance with the UNHCRs Manual on Monitoring Detention; due to the
detainee’s deprivation of liberty by the hands of the state, it is important that the
government ensure detention centers are safe, clean, hygienic, and comfortable.
In particular, one thing the guide points out is that because asylum-seekers
should not be treated like criminals, it is important that detention centers should
be the least carceral environment possible. This means that both the detention
environment and the living conditions must be decent in every respect.
The IPS partially answered the HRM FOIR pertaining to the conditions of
immigration detention facilities. The HRM’s knowledge of facilities conditions
comes from interviews with detainees as well as a conditions report written by
the Israeli Bar Association and the Public Defender. However it is important to
note that this report is from 2013, and due to the inability of Hotline to access both
the rooms at Saharonim and Givon, this is the most relevant information to date.
Saharonim
Saharonim contains three compounds: A, B and C. Compound A, which houses
wings 1-6, has not been in use for the last two years. Compound B, which comprises
wings 7-8, which were originally built as trailers. These two wings were closed
during the first months of 2015. Compound C houses wings 9 – 12, containers that
were actively used in 2015. There is another wing which is an isolation wing and
contains three cells. In 2012 the prison was refurbished, doubling its size, and
adding compound C to the existing A and B. Yet, in the following two years since
the refurbishing detainees were transferred from compound A and B so that at
the beginning of 2015 all detainees were held in Compound C only.
From data collected, each room houses 10 detainees arranged on 5 bunk-beds
at maximum capacity, this is in contradiction to the plans that Bar Association
reported on in 2013 which said that the plans for Saharonim refurbishment would
not have more than 5 people to a room.22 75% of those interviewed stated that their