Amnesty urges Israeli High Court to ban torture

The human rights organization, Amnesty International, has called on the Israeli High Court to ban the use of torture in interrogating Palestinian suspects.

The call comes after the court held a session on Wednesdayto examine the legality of the techniques used by the secret service, Shin Bet, when interrogating Palestinians.

In a statement, Amnesty said Israel was the only country in the world known to have effectively legalized torture by allowing certain interrogation methods.

Israeli law allows the use of what it describes as moderate physical pressure to hold information on impending terrorist attacks.

Some of the techniques used included covering the suspect's head with a sack and forcing him to listen to extremely loud music while his hands were tied behind his back.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service