Testimony: I.A.A.T.
Name: | I.A.A.T. |
Age: | 16 |
Date of incident: | 12 April 2016 |
Location: | Beit Fajjar, West Bank |
Accusation: | Throwing stones |
On 12 April 2016, a 16-year-old minor from Beit Fajjar was arrested by Israeli soldiers from home at 2:30 a.m. and accused of throwing stones. He reports being informed of his right to silence but not consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation. He reports being released on NIS 1,200 bail, 13 days after he was arrested.
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The soldiers did not tell me or my father the reason for my arrest or where they wanted to take me. The soldiers asked for my birth certificate but my father couldn’t find it so the soldiers took the annex in my father’s identity card and never gave it back to him. My father insisted that I put on proper clothes before he allowed the soldiers to take me away.
As soon as I was taken out of our house the soldiers tied my hands to the front with one plastic tie which was very tight and painful. They also blindfolded me and put me in the back of a troop carrier and made me sit on the metal floor.
The troop carrier drove for about 30 minutes before stopping at the police station in Etzion settlement. At Etzion I was put in a shipping container where I sat on the floor until around 9:00 a.m. I was very uncomfortable and felt back pain. At around 9:00 a.m. I was taken for interrogation.
The interrogator removed the blindfold and told me he was an intelligence officer. He handed me a document that said I had the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer. I did not speak to a lawyer. He then accused me of throwing stones at soldiers and showed me a picture of a youth throwing stones at soldiers. In the beginning I denied the accusation but eventually confessed to throwing stones at soldiers.
During the interrogation the interrogator tried to scare me. He pulled out his gun and put it on the table in front of him. He then told me that people in general dream of collaborating with him. I felt he was suggesting that I become a collaborator. He told me working with him was the best kind of work, better than anything else. He told me I would be earning a lot of money. I told him I preferred to work with my father. I also told him I was brought for interrogation and not for any other purpose.
The interrogation lasted for about 30 minutes. I was then taken to see another interrogator who wore an Israeli police uniform. The second interrogator told me his name was "Yosi". He told me I had the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer and then typed up my statement. He asked me for my father’s number and called him and told him I was at Etzion and that I needed a lawyer.
The interrogator typed up my statement in Hebrew and told me it was my statement and asked me to sign it. I signed it without understanding what it said. He then took my photograph and my fingerprints and took me to another room where I was strip searched. I was then taken to a cell where the tie was removed and I was given some food and water.
I remained in the cell by myself until around 10:00 a.m. when I was shackled and handcuffed and taken to a troop carrier where I sat on a seat. The carrier drove for about 90 minutes to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. At Ofer I was strip searched again and taken to Section 13.
Two days later I was taken to Ofer military court. My parents attended with my lawyer. The hearing was adjourned. I had four military court hearings. On the last hearing I was released on bail. My parents had to pay NIS 1,200 bail and I was assigned another hearing on 22 May 2016.
I was released from Ofer at around 7:00 p.m. on 24 April 2016. I went home with my parents who were waiting outside Ofer. We arrived home at around 9:30 p.m.