Testimony: M.K.I.
Name: | M.K.I. |
Age: | 17 |
Date of incident: | 11 January 2015 |
Location: | At Taybah, West Bank |
Accusation: | Throwing stones |
On 11 January 2015, a 17-year-old minor was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 4:30 p.m. near the Wall. He reports being informed of his right to silence and consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation. He reports being released without charge 9 days later.
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The jeep drove for about 10 minutes before stopping at Salem military base. At Salem I was put in a shipping container where I sat on the floor for about five hours. A soldier then took me to another room. On the way he pushed me and I fell to the ground. He made me sit on the floor for another hour. When a soldier heard me talking to my brother, who was also arrested with me, he started to shout at me. I wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom or to drink water.
At around midnight a soldier took me to see a doctor who examined me and gave me a questionnaire in Arabic about my medical condition. I was then blindfolded and taken into the back of a jeep where I sat on the metal floor. The jeep drove for about 30 minutes before it stopped and I was taken out. When I asked where we were soldiers told me we were at the police station in Ariel settlement. At Ariel I waited on a seat in a corridor for 30 minutes before I was taken to an interrogation room.
I was interrogated at around 1.00 a.m. The interrogator wore an Israeli police uniform. Before the interrogation started he told me I had the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer. He then asked me for my father’s number and called him. He told my father to appoint me a lawyer. My father gave the interrogator a phone number for a lawyer. The interrogator then called the lawyer and allowed me to speak to him.
The interrogator then accused me of being near the Wall throwing stones at soldiers and blocking the road. I denied the accusation and told the interrogator I was in the area collecting wood. The interrogator claimed he had a video recording showing me throwing stones. I asked him to show me the video. He said he would but never did. The interrogation lasted for about two hours. The interrogator did not beat me but he swore at me, calling me a liar and my mother and sisters "whores".
In the end the interrogator printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it. I signed it without understanding what it said. I was then photographed and fingerprinted and taken into a courtyard where I sat on the ground until around 4:00 a.m.
At around 4.00 a.m. I was put in the back of a troop carrier where I sat on a seat. The carrier drove for about one-and-a-half hours before it stopped at Megiddo prison, inside Israel. At Megiddo I was strip searched. I was given prison clothes and taken to the minors’ section.
On Thursday, 15 January 2015, I was taken to Salem military court. A lawyer was in the military court to defend me. The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday, 20 January 2015. On Tuesday I was taken back to the military court where I waited in a room until midday. A lawyer then told me I was going to be released. I went home with my parents who had come to attend the hearing. I was released without charge and without any further legal proceedings.