Testimony: H.D.H.D.
Name: | H.D.H.D. |
Age: | 16 |
Date: | 1 April 2022 |
Location: | Al Lubban Asharqiyeh, West Bank |
Accusation: | Throwing stones |
On 1 April 2022, a 16-year-old minor from Al Lubban Asharqiyeh was arrested by Israeli soldiers at noon during clashes. He reports ill treatment. He reports consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation but not being informed of his right to silence. He reports being sentenced to 4 months in prison and fined NIS 1,500.
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The soldiers then took me to the back of a military jeep where I was made to sit on the metal floor between the other soldiers’ legs. Inside the jeep the soldiers swore at me and called me "a son of a whore".
The jeep drove to the police station in Binyamin settlement where I was left in a room by myself until around midnight. I was not given any food or drink during this time. Then a soldier removed the blindfold and the hand ties and took me to an interrogation room. It was around midnight.
The interrogator was in police uniform and had a camera in the room. He phoned a lawyer and allowed me to speak to him. The lawyer told me to take care of myself and said he had spoken to my parents and told me they were fine. The conversation lasted for a few minutes and the interrogator was listening.
Then, without informing me of my right to silence, the interrogator accused me of throwing stones at soldiers during the clashes. When I denied the accusation, he told me to shut up. Then he told me soldiers saw me throwing stones and had testified against me. When I heard this, I confessed. Then the interrogator wanted me to give him names of other boys. He was aggressive and yelled at me the whole time. He swore at me and called me "a son of a whore" and told me to shut up. He questioned me for about an hour. I was not asked to sign any documents.
After the interrogation was over I was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, where I was strip searched before being taken to the minors’ section. The following day I was taken to the military court. My father was there. The military judge extended my detention. After court I was taken back to Ofer.
I had about 12 hearings. At the last one, which was three days before I was released, I was sentenced in a plea bargain to four months in prison and fined NIS 1,500. I was also given a suspended sentence for one year. I accepted the plea bargain because my lawyer told me it was good and I wanted to go home.
I spent three months at Ofer and then I was transferred to Megiddo prison, inside Israel, where I spent my remaining time. I did not have any family visits because the permit for my parents to visit me was not issued in time. I was allowed to call home from a phone provided by the prison authorities once every two weeks, although sometimes the calls were more than two weeks apart. In prison I attended some classes and I liked to get out into the courtyard to walk and chat to the other boys.
I was released at al Jalama checkpoint on 10 August 2022 and I went home with my father. I arrived home at around 5:00 p.m.