Testimony: S.S.A.
| Name: | S.S.A. |
| Age: | 16 |
| Date of incident: |
16 April 2014 |
| Location: |
Beit Ummar, West Bank |
| Accusation: | Throwing stones/Molotovs |
On 16 April 2014, a 16-year-old minor from Beit Ummar was interrogated inside Etzion settlement following a telephone summons. He reports ill treatment and being denied his full legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being sentenced to 6 months in prison as well as a suspended sentence.
My father received a phone call from the Israeli police in the settlement of Etzion. They told him to bring me to the police station for questioning. I went with my uncle to the settlement because my father was busy. My uncle and I arrived at Etzion police station at around 9.00 a.m.The interrogator took me to a room but did not allow my uncle to accompany me. As soon as I arrived at the police station the interrogator tied my hands to the front with one plastic tie. The tie was not painful.
The interrogator did not inform me of my right to silence or of my right to see a lawyer. He told me he was going to ask me some questions and that I had to answer him. He told me I could remain silent but remaining silent would be considered as a confession in court.
The interrogator accused me of throwing stones and Molotov cocktail at soldiers. He also told me that other boys had confessed against me. He named the boys. I told him I didn’t know the boys and completely denied the accusation. The interrogator then threatened that if I didn’t confess he was going to ask the soldiers to beat me. He then went out of the room and called three soldiers in who started to beat me and slap me. I think they were careful not to leave any marks on my face. Still, I was in pain. The soldiers tore my jacket while beating me. While the soldiers were beating me the interrogator was swearing at me, cursing God and my religion.
The first round of interrogation lasted for about one hour. During this round I did not confess. I was then taken to another room where I was interrogated by another interrogator. The second interrogator told me I had the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer. He also told me I had the right to have a family member attend the interrogation. I asked him if he could allow my uncle in but he told me he couldn’t allow that.
The second interrogator accused me of throwing stones at soldiers. I denied the accusation. The interrogator then swore at me and called my sisters and my mother whores. He threatened to put me in solitary confinement if I didn’t confess. He also said if I didn’t confess to throwing stones he was going to accuse me of leading a gang of boys who throw stones. I was scared when I heard this and decided to confess to throwing stones at soldiers. The interrogator printed out a document written in Hebrew and asked me to sign it and I did.
I was then photographed and fingerprinted and taken to a courtyard where I remained until around 10.00 p.m. It was a cold night. At around 10:00 p.m. I was handcuffed and taken to the back of a transporter where I sat on a seat. The vehicle drove for about an hour before it arrived at Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. At Ofer I was strip searched and given prison clothes and taken to Section 13.
The following day I was taken to Ofer military court. I had about 10 hearings. In the end I was sentenced to six months in prison and given a suspended sentence of nine months valid for two years. This was part of a plea bargain. Part of my sentence was to serve a previous suspended sentence. I didn’t have to pay any fines. I spent my entire sentence at Ofer. In prison I did not study. I was released from Ofer on 28 September 2014.
