Administrative detainee Meir Ettinger – who has been jailed without trial or charges for over eight months – and his lawyer demanded the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) suspend an officer Ettinger claims abused him.

Sources close to Ettinger claim that since Monday, the day of his firstborn son’s brit milah (circumcision), the officer in question abused Ettinger on a number of occasions.

The officer allegedly refused Ettinger his time allowed to call his wife, and later also filed false complaints against Ettinger and took away all the electrical devices out of his room.

Honenu attorney Sima Kochav sent an urgent letter on behalf of Ettinger to the Eshel penitentiary warden: “I was shocked to hear that in the last few days my client has been going through harsh mistreatment and abuse by an IPS officer.”

“The officer is personally picking on my client, fabricating scenarios that never happened, filling complaints against my client, complaints regarding things that never happened, and preventing my client rights granted to him by law.

“We wish to express our displeasure, and while the IPS officer’s motives are not clear, he is abusing his power and greatly mistreating my client,” wrote Kochav.

Attorney Kochav further demanded that an investigation be opened against the officer.

“I ask on behalf of my client’s interest that an immediate investigation be opened regarding the IPS guard in order to clear the matter up. There is no need to emphasize the severity of submitting false information and that is a serious offense in the Penal Code. In your capacity as prison warden, I would ask you to act immediately to stop this abuse.”

The IPS issued a terse statement in response: ”In regard to administrative detainee Meir Ettinger, a complaint was filed after he threatened to murder a prison guard.”