Around half of the senior officers in the reservist engineering regiment could soon quit their positions in protest at the Israel Defense Force's decision not to suspend the regiment commander, who has been charged with severely mistreating a Palestinian.

In April, Lieutenant Colonel Geva Saguy was charged with using threats during his interrogation of a Palestinian youth. According to the charge sheet, which was filed in July to a special military court in Tel Aviv, Saguy and his subordinates went to the home of a wanted terror suspect, where they believed weapons were being held.

On discovering that the wanted man was not at home, Saguy ordered his teenage son to strip naked, and then demanded that he reveal the location of the weapons.

As part of his "interrogation" the commander held a burning piece of paper close to the youth's groin. He also tried to insert a bottle into the youth's rectum, aimed his gun him and threatened to shoot him.

In a separate incident, it is claimed that the commander used a woman as a "human shield." According to the charges against him, Saguy held the woman - a Senegalese worker employed as a housekeeper - at gunpoint while combing the house for terrorists.

The complaint was made by several of Saguy's senior subordinates, including his direct deputy, two company commanders and the regiment's operations officer. Military police immediately began investigating the accusations.

Relations between Saguy and his subordinates have been strained since he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in August last year. Officers have also accused Saguy of unreliability and shortcomings in his operational functioning during fighting in Bethlehem.

The officers have asked division commander Brigadier General Amos Ben Avraham to dismiss Saguy, or, alternatively, to suspend him until the investigation is completed. Ben Avraham rejected the demand, saying that Saguy should not be suspended before the military police complete their investigation, since that would be punishing him before his guilt is proven. Ben Avraham is planning to meet with the officers in the near future, to hear their complaints first hand.

A senior IDF source told Ha'aretz that Ben Avraham wants a decision on the case to be made by a legal procedure. The source added that efforts are continuing to ensure that the officers do not resign, and that the IDF has shown understanding of the problems they raised.

Saguy's legal representatives, attorneys Eli Zohar and Roey Balcher, refused to respond to the latest development, saying that the issue is still sub judice, and that they are convinced that their client would be cleared of all charges.

The regiment in question is due to hold a training exercise next month, under Saguy's command. The deputy who confronted Saguy was not called up for the exercise, while two other officers were not invited to the interview day that was held ahead of the exercise. The officers said that they found out in retrospect that Saguy had appointed replacements, who they described as 'Saguy's yes-men.'

In response, the embittered officers sent a letter to the division commander, in which they asked to be released from their positions. One of the officers said that he spoke Wednesday to the division commander, and was given to believe that the request had been accepted.

The end result is that the regiment commander, accused of abuse, continues in his post, while most of the officers who filed a complaint against him are set to leave the regiment.


THEIR SADISM NEVER ENDS...

Israeli Soldiers Try To Insert A Bottle Into A Palestinian Teenagers Rectum September 16 2002, 6:20 AM

Go to..(1)..  http://ummah.com/newsletter/massacres.palestine/ ..(2).  http://jerusalem-times.net/article/detail.asp?id=829 ..(3)..  http://amnestyusa.org/news/1998/51503198.htm ..(4)..  http://humanities.uchicago.edu/cis/torture/abstracts/loriallen.html ..(5).. mediareview.net.com/HewsForJustice.htm ..(6).. iSRAELI ATROCITIRES AGAINST CHILDREN.....  http://israel-state-terrorism.org/children6.html ..(7).. balkanunity.org/mideast/english/zionism/ch11.tm ..(8).. iSRAELIS TORTURE CHILDREN...  http://washingtontimes.com/worl/20020326-5119951 ... iap.org/masacres.htm ..(9)..  http://stop-facism.org/middle_east_forum_toc.htm ...(10).. hofman-info.com