An Israeli military court has ordered the release of a British citizen from custody after a judge ruled that a confession obtained by the Shin Bet security service had been extracted under physical and psychological pressure and without access to a lawyer.

In explaining his ruling, the sitting judge detailed the “prolonged painful shackling [and] threats” that he said had been used to “exploit the weakness” of Faiz Mahmoud Ahmed Sherari, who was accused of acting as a courier for Hamas, during questioning.

Sherari – a dual UK-Lebanese national – remains in custody pending an appeal on Sunday by a military prosecutor against the court’s ruling. Sherari’s lawyer said he denies the accusations.

Commenting on reports around the case the Foreign Office confirmed a British national had been arrested, but could not provide any other details because of consular confidentiality.

“We are providing consular assistance to a British national who is being detained in Israel, and will remain in contact with local authorities.”



Sherari, 49, was born in Lebanon but had lived in the UK for the last 23 years. He was arrested during a four-day visit to the West Bank in September and accused of providing cash and mobile phones to Hamas.

According to reports in the Israeli media on Tuesday evening, Sherari’s release was ordered by a Israeli military court sitting in the occupied Palestinian territories after the presiding judge ruled that his confession to the Shin Bet security service was coerced and therefore invalid.

In an unusual move the judge, Lt Col Azriel Levy, sharply criticised the military prosecution and ruled that despite the seriousness of the accusations against him, Sherari’s rights had been violated and his testimony presented to the court not been given voluntarily.



According to reports, Sherari had been painfully cuffed for an extended period and threatened, as well as prevented from seeing a lawyer from 15 September – the date of his arrest – until 6 October.

“There’s no doubt that the defendant’s confession, which was given an hour after the end of his Shin Bet interrogation, was dramatically influenced by the method of interrogation, which also included pained and prolonged shackling, threats, and a blatant exploitation of the defendant’s demonstrated weakness,” the judge said in his ruling.

The judge’s ruling echoes previously voiced concerns by Palestinian and Israeli campaigners over the conduct of Shin Bet interrogations, not least long periods of questioning with limited access to lawyers and the use of psychological and physical pressure aimed at producing a confession.

Details of the case first emerged in Hebrew on the Israeli Walla news site before being picked up by other Israeli newspapers.

According to the Shin Bet indictment, Sherari had agreed to be a messenger for a Hamas member in Lebanon during visits over a decade to the country.

Speaking to the Guardian, Sherari’s lawyer, Ramzi Katilat, said: “In the interrogation he made an admission. But what we are saying is that it is untrue. What he said was to satisfy the interrogator who used illegal pressure. He is saying he is not not guilty.”

“There are two possibilities now. Either the appeal hearing will approve the order and he will be released to the West Bank until the end of proceedings against him. Or the court will overturn last week’s decision and he will stay in jail.”

Responding to the Walla article, Shin Bet released a statement denying claims of torture: “Faiz Sherari was indicted at the Judea military court for grave offences against the security of the region.

“During the procedure being carried out against him, the court, as mentioned, delivered its decision not to hold him in custody until the end of the proceedings, and ordered his release under restrictive conditions.

“An appeal against this decision was filed to the military appeals court, and a decision on the appeal has not yet been delivered.

“Besides the above, it should be emphasised that the allegations of torture during Faiz Sherari’s investigation are baseless and groundless.”