Minor detainees are taken to visits with heads covered in black bags… a blatant violation of their human dignity

”Minors Held in Harsh Conditions at “Megiddo Prison”

August 13, 2025

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs reported that the Israeli Prison Service continues to enforce abusive measures against detained minors, comparable in severity to those imposed on adult prisoners since October 7.
These children are kept in bare, empty cells, placed under heightened isolation, and denied family visits, part of the broader policy that has barred thousands of detainees from seeing their families.

The Commission explained that, in Megiddo Prison, minors are deliberately brought to family visits with their hands and feet shackled, blindfolded, and their heads covered with black bags. Upon entering the visiting room, the blindfold is removed, but their hands remain restrained in a way that makes holding the phone extremely difficult, while their feet remain chained. Despite repeated appeals from legal representatives to remove the restraints during visits, prison authorities consistently refuse.

Following a recent visit to the minors, the Commission’s lawyer reported that the prison cells fail to meet even the most basic international standards for the rights of children and detainees. They are filthy, infested with insects, poorly ventilated, and inadequately lit. The detained minors are subjected on a daily basis to verbal abuse, beatings, solitary confinement, sexual harassment, and collective punishment.