The Al-Moskobiya, Moscobiyeh, Muscovite or Moscovia Detention Centre is an Israeli detention and interrogation facility and prison more commonly known as The

Russian Compound The Russian Compound ( he, מִגְרַשׁ הָרוּסִים, ''Migraš ha-Rusim'', ar, المسكوبية, ''al-Muskubīya'', russian: Русское подворье в Иерусалиме) is one of the oldest districts in central Jer ...

, located in

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by t ...

. The center is used to interrogate Palestinian detainees and prisoners from a variety of age groups, including children. The Palestinian NGO Addameer has alleged that harsh methods of torture are used there.

History

During the British Palestine Mandate the center was known as 'the central prison'. It has been claimed that the prison especially became notorious due to its harsh torture techniques throughout the 1980s. In 1990, it was reported that the jail was used mainly for Palestinians fighting Israeli occupation of the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. Both the Moscovia Detention Centre and the nearby Museum of Underground Prisoners are yellow brick buildings that were built as part of a complex of hostels and a green-domed church for pilgrims by the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

in the 1860s.

Popular culture

In 2017 a documentary by director Raed Andoni was released called

Ghost Hunting Ghost hunting is the process of investigating locations that are reported to be haunted by ghosts. Typically, a ghost-hunting team will attempt to collect evidence supporting the existence of paranormal activity. Ghost hunters use a variety of ...

( ar, إصطياد اشباح ''Iṣṭiyād ʾAšbāḥ''). The movie, which explores the trauma of former prisoners of the Detention Center, was first screened in Ramallah for an audience consisting for ninety percent of former prisoners.

References

{{Authority control Israel Defense Forces Prisons in Israel Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Russian Compound