Israeli ambassador furious over torture report

Aftenposten English Web Desk, 7 September 2007
Israel's ambassador to Norway is once again furious at her host country, and demanding that the Norwegian foreign ministry distance itself from a report that expresses concern over claims of torture in Israeli prisons. Ministry officials respond that they have nothing to disavow.

Israel's ambassador to Norway, Miryam Shomrat, is directing new fury at Norway and Norwegian concerns over alleged torture in Israeli prisons.

The Israeli ambassador, Miryam Shomrat, is angry that Norway's embassy in Tel Aviv sent a report home to the foreign ministry in Oslo asking officials there to take up the issue of alleged torture of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The embassy's report was in turn based on reports written by three Israeli human rights groups that were based on surveys of Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli groups -- The Public Committee Against Torture, HaMoked and B'tselem, according to newspaper Aftenposten -- expressed concern that Israeli authorities went too far in their use of physical and psychic pressure on Palestinian prisoners, and that it too often turned into abuse and torture.

Ambassador Shomrat was furious that the Norwegians were concerned about the content of the reports, or the allegations of torture, and also claimed that Norway's own ambassador to Israel was "called onto the carpet" of Israel's foreign ministry and told that Norway was expected to distance itself from the report.

Norwegian officials have a different version, saying the meeting between Norwegian ambassador Jakken Biørn Lian and officials at the Israeli foreign ministry had been planned long in advance, and came at the initiative of the Norwegians.

Raymond Johansen, state secretary in the Norwegian foreign ministry, said the Norwegians had nothing to distance themselves from, because the Norwegian embassy's report was based on Israeli reports. The Norwegians are simply concerned about the torture allegations that those reports contained.

Shomrat nonetheless claimed that the Norwegians' use of the reports "damaged the relationship between Norway and Israel." It's not the first time she has taken offense at Norwegian criticism of Israeli policy. She was forced to apologize last year when her own criticism of Norway was viewed as being offensive to the Norwegian royal family.