Testimony: R.A.M.S.
| Name: | R.A.M.S. |
| Age: | 13 |
| Date: | 8 February 2018 |
| Location: | Beit Fajjar, West Bank |
| Accusation: | Setting a fire |
On 8 February 2018, a 13-year-old minor from Beit Fajjar was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 4:00 p.m. and accused of setting fire to tyres near a settlement. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being sentenced to 8 days in prison and fined NIS 500. He also received a suspended sentence.
I was with some friend in the fields near the settlement and we set fire to some old tyres. It was around 4:00 p.m. Shortly afterwards we were surprised by a group of Israeli soldiers who had ambushed us. They surrounded us from all directions and I did not know which way to run so I stayed put. A group of soldiers started to slap and beat me on my legs, my arms and shoulders. They also swore at me. The soldiers tied my hands to the front with one plastic tie which was very painful and left a mark on my wrists. They also painfully blindfolded me and pushed me into the back of a jeep where I sat on a seat. The jeep drove to a place I did not recognize. By the time we arrived it was dark.
I was taken into a room where I waited on the floor for a long time, maybe about five hours, without food or drink and I could not sleep. Then I was taken to the back of a jeep where I sat on a seat and the jeep took me to the police station at Etzion settlement for interrogation. I waited for some time and then I was taken into the interrogation room.
The interrogator removed the tie and the blindfold. As soon as he saw me he told me my friends had confessed against me. I denied that I had done anything wrong. The interrogator wore an Israeli police uniform and was angry. He banged the table and raised his voice when he spoke to me. He interrogated me for about 30 minutes and did not inform me of any rights. He did not give me any documents to sign and I did not confess.
After the interrogation I was re-tied and blindfolded and taken to the back of a jeep where I was left there for a long time. I sat on a seat and the soldiers put their boots on me and laid their weapons next to me. I was exhausted and wanted to sleep but I could not sleep because I was tied and blindfolded. I was in the jeep from around 1:00 a.m. until around 8:00 a.m. when I was taken to the military court. Nothing happened in court and I was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I ate for the first time since my arrest.
I had two more military court hearings and my mother and uncle attended. The last hearing was on the 15 February 2018, and I was sentenced in a plea bargain, based on confessions from the other boys. I received time already served and four months in prison suspended for one year. In addition, my parents were fined NIS 500. After court I was taken back to Ofer and later that day I was released and I went home with my mother and uncle.
