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Home » Children »

Testimony: N.M.Y.N.

 

Name:  N.M.Y.N.
Age:  13
Date:  6 May 2018
Location:  Al Bireh, West Bankl
Accusation:  Throwing stones

On 6 May 2018, a 13-year-old minor from Al Bireh was detained by Israeli soldiers at 11:00 a.m. during clashes near his school and accused of throwing stones. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being released without charge, 7 hours after he was detained. 

At around 11:00 a.m. there were clashes with Israeli soldiers near our school. I was in the area with my friends. I saw military jeeps in the distance and I told one of my friends that the situation did not look good, but before I could finish my sentence a jeep came up behind us and I started to run.
 
Three soldiers got out of the jeep and started to chase down some terraces into the valley, but they could not catch me. Then one of the soldiers shouted at me to stop and threatened to shoot me if I did not. I froze in my place because I was terrified the soldier might shoot me. 
 
A soldier then approached me and pushed me to the ground. I was handcuffed to the front with metal cuffs which were painful. He twisted my arm and I told him not to twist it because I had fractured it a few months ago and it still hurt. But the soldier deliberately beat me on my arm. 
 
I was then led towards the nearby settlement of Psagot. On the road near the settlement the soldier blindfolded me, which was painful, and took me to the back of a jeep where I sat on a metal box on the floor. Inside the jeep a soldier kicked me on my knee and ankle which caused me a lot of pain which lasted for a week. My knee swelled and I could not walk properly.
 
The jeep drove inside the settlement and the soldiers got me out of the jeep and made me kneel beside the road. The commander came, grabbed me by the neck and accused me of throwing stones at the soldiers. He also accused me of swearing at soldiers. He did not inform me of any rights and I denied the accusations. Then he swore at me and I swore back at him. Then he kicked me on my knee and three soldiers started to beat me. They caused me a lot of pain. Then the commander told me he was going to lock me up in prison.
 
I was then led through the settlement and I was deliberately tripped many times and fell to the ground. I was taken to a room and the commander came and screamed in my ears to scare me. I was still tied and blindfolded. When I told him the handcuffs were painful he replaced the metal handcuffs with a plastic tie and tightened them even more. I was in pain. He swore at me and when I swore back he slapped me hard on the face. 
 
Later I was taken outside and made to sit on the side of a road with cars driving by. I was terrified because I was not sure the drivers could see me so I sat very still. People in the cars made fun of me as they drove by and said things in Hebrew which I did not understand. Then I was taken back to a room where I sat on a chair.
 
Later I was put in a police car which drove around for about two hours. I think it drove form one settlement to another. Eventually I was taken to the settlement of Beit El. I asked to use the toilet and the soldier allowed me and when I asked him to remove the tie he removed it. 
 
At around 6:30 p.m. I was driven to the entrance of the settlement and handed over to the Palestinian police who took me to the police station in Ramallah. The Palestinian police then took a testimony from me. Then my uncle picked me up and took me home. My mother was very happy to see me and told me how worried she was.