IJL and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum submitted a legal brief to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, calling for the recognition of the hostages and their families as direct victims of torture and inhuman treatment.
Our submission addresses the factual and legal dimensions that define the October 7, 2023 hostage-taking of 251 individuals as acts of torture. With 100 hostages still in captivity, subjected to documented physical and psychological abuse both during the October 7 atrocities and throughout their prolonged captivity, the evidence leads to one inescapable conclusion: these acts constitute torture.
Yet our submission extends beyond the suffering of the hostages themselves. A key focus is the recognition of hostages’ families, including children, as direct victims of torture or inhuman treatment.
The circumstances are particularly egregious: family members witnessed and endured the October 7 atrocities firsthand, with some being taken hostage themselves. Their loved ones remain in the custody of a terrorist organization that flagrantly disregards international law. Hamas withholds crucial information about the hostages’ fate while subjecting their families to psychological torment through the release of distressing videos.
After more than 430 days of this cruel psychological abuse, we argue that family members of the hostages, particularly those within the nuclear family, must be recognized as victims of torture or cruel and inhuman treatment.