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Home » Children »

Testimony: M.A.S.S.

 

Name:  M.A.S.S.
Age:  14
Date:  10 February 2018
Location:  Hebron, West Bank
Accusation:  Knife possession

On 10 February 2018, a 14-year-old minor from Hebron was arrested by Israeli soldiers at noon near the main mosque and accused of possessing a knife. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being sentenced to 1 month in prison and fined NIS 2,000. He also received a suspended sentence. 

I tried to enter the mosque in Hebron at around 12:00 p.m. with a fruit knife in my pocket. As I went through the metal detector the alarm went off. The security guard immediately called for re-enforcements. About 30 soldiers and policemen arrived at the scene within minutes. 
 
One of the soldiers handcuffed me to the front with metal handcuffs and then twisted my arms over my head. The handcuffs were very tight and painful and the position of my arms caused me more pain. The handcuffs left a mark on my wrists for more than a week. The soldiers swore at me. When I swore back at them a soldier swung a metal chair at me and it hit me on the side and caused me pain. 
 
Then I was taken to a corner out of sight where three soldiers beat me. I was kicked and slapped. Then I was taken to a room where I waited for about two hours. During this time I asked to use the toilet but the soldiers refused.  
 
After about two hours I was put in a police car which drove for about 10 minutes to the police station in the settlement of Kiryat Arba. At the police station I was taken to a shipping container where I waited for about two hours. After two hours I was taken for interrogation. It was around 4:30 p.m.
 
The interrogator was in civilian clothes and had a pistol on his side. He spoke good Arabic and turned a voice recorder on. He asked me whether I knew why I was in his office and I said I did not. Then he said I told a soldier at the Mosque that I had intended to stab a soldier. I denied the accusation and told the interrogator I did not tell anybody I had intended to stab anyone. Then he told me if I confessed to attempting to stab a soldier he would send me home. I told him it was true I had a knife in my pocket but I did not intend to hurt anyone with it.
 
Half way through the interrogation he asked me whether I wanted to speak to a lawyer. I told him I did. He asked me for a telephone number for a lawyer but I did not have one so I gave him my father’s telephone number. He called my father and my father happened to be visiting a lawyer. I spoke to the lawyer who told me not to confess. 
 
The interrogator did not say anything about the right to silence. On the contrary, he told me if I spoke he would send me home. He also threatened if I did not confess he was going to bring soldiers into the interrogation room and ask them to beat me hard. He continued to accuse me of attempting to stab a soldier and I continued to deny it. 
 
I was interrogated for about an hour and I continued to deny the accusation. At the end of the interrogation he showed me documents in Hebrew and asked me to sign them. When I refused to sign and told him I was not going to sign anything I did not understand a soldier who was standing in the room grabbed me by the neck and told me I had to sign. I was scared of him and I signed. 
 
After the interrogation I was taken to a military ambulance where a doctor asked me some questions about my health. Then they took my photograph and fingerprints and took me to the police station in the settlement of Ma’aleh Addumim. 
 
At the police station a policeman asked me whether I was offered any food or drink and whether I was beaten. He was recording on a computer and asked me whether I spoke to a lawyer and I told him I did. Then he asked me to sign some documents in Hebrew and I signed. 
 
Then I was taken in a police car to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. On the way I was blindfolded. I arrived at Ofer prison at around 1:00 a.m. I was tired and hungry. I ate and went to bed. 
 
The following day I was taken to Ofer military court. My brother and brother-in-law were in court and so was my lawyer. The military judge decided to keep me in detention and the hearing was adjourned. My mother did not attend because she was with my father who was seriously ill in hospital.
 
I had seven military court hearings. At the last hearing I was sentenced in a plea bargain to one month in prison and fined NIS 2,000. I was also given a suspended sentence valid for three years but I can’t remember for how long. I was also banned from entering Israel for three years. 
 
I was released from prison on 4 March 2018, at around midnight. and I arrived home with my brother at around 3:00 a.m. I had a difficult time in prison because I was worried about my father who was very sick. My father died a week after I was released. My lawyer worked hard to get me released so I could spend some time with him and I was happy I did.