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Home » Children »

Testimony: A.M.T.R.

 

Name: A.M.T.R.
Age: 15
Date: 3 July 2017
Location: Kafr Qaddum, West Bank
Accusation: Throwing stones
 
On 3 July 2017, a 15-year-old minor from Kafr Qaddum was arrested by Israeli soldiers from home at 4:00 a.m. and accused of throwing stones. He reports being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being released on NIS 1,000 bail, 9 days after he was arrested. 
 
My brother woke me up at around 4:00 a.m. and told me Israeli soldiers were surrounding our house in all directions. I quickly got up and put my clothes on because I had a feeling they had come for me.
 
Soon the soldiers started banging on our front door and my father answered. As soon as the soldiers entered our home they asked for me and I identified myself. The commander then told me I was under arrest. The soldiers did not give us any documents and did not tell my father the reason for my arrest or where they were taking me. They only told him they were taking me for questioning and would return me home shortly.
 
Then they took me outside and led me on foot for about 15 minutes to the nearby settlement. They made me stand near the military jeeps and then they shackled and handcuffed me to the front. The handcuffs were tight. I was also blindfolded before being put in a shipping container where I sat on a chair for about an hour. During this time a doctor examined me. He removed the blindfold during the examination and put it back on later.
 
After about an hour I was put in a jeep where I sat on the metal floor. The jeep drove for about 30 minutes to the police station in Ariel settlement. At Ariel I was left on the floor of a room for about five hours before being taken for interrogation.
 
The interrogator did not inform me of my rights. He removed the blindfold and the handcuffs but kept my leg shackles on. He immediately asked me about my role in throwing stones at soldiers and told me he had photographic evidence of me throwing stones. I asked him to show me the evidence and he showed me an old picture for which I had been interrogated in the past and then released when I was able to prove the person in the picture was not me. I said this to the interrogator.
 
I was interrogated for about 30 minutes and I denied the accusation. Then he took me to a courtyard where I sat on the ground for about 30 minutes and then the interrogator took me inside. He printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it but I refused to sign and told him there was no way for me to verify what was written in it.
 
Then the soldiers blindfolded and handcuffed me again and took me to a troop carrier where I sat on a seat. The carrier drove for about an hour to Huwwara were I remained in the carrier outside for about four hours. Then I was taken inside where the blindfold, the shackles and the handcuffs were removed and I was searched in my underwear and then I was taken to a cell. I remained there until around midnight when I was shackled and handcuffed and put in a troop carrier. The carrier drove for about two hours to Megiddo prison, inside Israel. 
 
At Megiddo I was strip searched and taken into section 3. The following day I was taken to the military court at Salem. My parents did not attend because they were not informed and the hearing was adjourned. My parents and my lawyer attended the second hearing and the military court decided to release me on bail. My parents had to pay NIS 1,000 bail. I was sent back to Megiddo and then I was released at Salem at around 4:00 p.m., 12 July 2017.