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Home » Children »

Testimony: A.I.M.E.

 

Name: A.I.M.E.
Age: 13
Date of incident: 10 October 2016
Location: Aida camp, West Bank
Accusation: Thowing stones
 
On 10 October 2016, a 13-year-old minor from Aida refugee camp was arrested by Israeli undercover soldiers at 4:30 p.m. during clashes in the camp. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being sentenced to 20 days in prison and fined NIS 6,000. He also received a suspended sentence. 
 
I was with some friends watching other boys throwing stones at Israeli soldiers near the entrance to our refugee camp. It was around 4:30 p.m. Suddenly a fight broke out among Palestinians and I went to have a closer look and to try and intervene. When I got closer I saw that a group of undercover Israeli soldiers were among the Palestinians trying to make arrests.
 
As soon as I got closer two undercover Israeli soldiers grabbed and started to beat me on my body and head. As a result of this beating I suffered a broken nose, fractured rib and a dislocated shoulder.
 
After beating me the undercover soldiers tied my hands to behind my back with three plastic ties on top of each other around my wrists. The ties were very tight and painful. When I complained one of them tightened them even more. I was also blindfolded.
 
After I was tied the soldiers led me towards a military watchtower near Rachel’s tomb where they made me sit on the ground with my face down between my legs. I remained in this position for about four hours. I was in a lot of pain.
 
After about four hours I was taken to the back of a military jeep and made to sit on the metal floor. Once inside the jeep they replaced the plastic ties with handcuffs. The jeep drove for about an hour before it stopped at Atarot police station, East Jerusalem. I waited in a courtyard for about 10 minutes and then I was taken for interrogation.
 
The interrogator was in civilian clothes. He removed the handcuffs and the blindfold and started to ask me for some personal details. Then he started to interrogate me but I stopped him and told him I wanted to speak to my father first. He called my father and told him to come to attend my interrogation and allowed me to speak to him. I later found out that my had father tried to come to the police station but the soldiers at Qalandiya checkpoint sent him back because he didn’t have a permit.
 
The interrogator accused me of throwing stones at soldiers and of hitting a soldier on the face. He did not inform me of any legal rights. He then accused me of throwing stones at soldiers using a sling shot. I denied the accusation and told him this was not true at all. He slapped me on the face and swore at me saying I was "a son of a whore" and then he kicked me. I continued to deny the accusation. He had a tape recorder and a camera in the room.
 
The interrogation lasted for about two hours and in the end he printed a document in Hebrew and asked me to sign it and I did because I was too scared of him. Then he took my photograph and my fingerprints and took me to see a doctor for a medical checkup.
 
After the medical check I was taken to a courtyard and they made me stand in the rain. I spent the night in the open air. I managed to fall asleep for a short while although there was no mattress and the weather was cold and rainy. I wasn’t given any food but I was allowed to drink some water and to use the toilet. 
 
At around 10:00 a.m. the following morning, soldiers shackled and handcuffed me to the front and took me to a vehicle which drove for about 15 minutes to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. At Ofer I was strip searched and then I was taken to the military court.
 
My parents were not in court because they were not informed but a lawyer was there and the hearing was adjourned. I was then taken to Section 13 in Ofer prison.
 
I had five military court hearings which my parents attended except for one because the soldiers did not allow them in. At the last hearing I was sentenced to 20 days in prison in addition to three months under house arrest and a fine of NIS 6,000. I was also given a suspended sentence of four month valid for three years.
 
During the house arrest period an intelligence officer called my father regularly to check on me. I was allowed to go to school but the officer called my school to make sure I was there. When I needed to go to a hospital for treatment, my father coordinated the hospital visit with the Red Cross. I was released from prison on 26 October 2016, four days ahead of time. I went home with my parents.