On 27 April 2014, a 15-year-old minor from Hebron was detained by Israeli soldiers at 2:00 p.m. at a checkpoint in possession of a knife. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being released on 7 May 2014 after his father paid a fine of NIS 2,000.

I went to the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron at around 2:00 p.m. As I entered the military checkpoint two Israeli soldiers stopped me. One of the soldiers handcuffed me and pushed me against a wall. As they searched me one of them found a knife in my pocket. He asked me why I was carrying a knife and I told him I had forgotten it was there. The soldier slapped me very hard on my face and asked me the same question again. I gave him the same answer. He then slapped me on my face once again.

 

Two Israeli policemen arrived and took me to the police station near the mosque and made me sit on a chair in a courtyard. I stayed there for about 30 minutes. Then I was put in the back of a police jeep and driven 10 minutes to the settlement of Kiryat Arba. As soon as we arrived at the police station I was taken for interrogation.

 

The interrogator, who wore civilian clothes, interrogated me for about five minutes. He did not record the interrogation and did not put anything in writing. He did not inform me of any rights. I was still handcuffed.

 

 

The two soldiers who arrested me were in the other room and the interrogator asked them to leave. I remained in the room with the interrogator by myself. I was still handcuffed and I sat on a chair facing him. He showed me something on his computer screen which said I had the right to remain silent during interrogation. It also said I had the right to consult with a lawyer before the interrogation. The interrogator asked me if I knew a lawyer. I told him I only had my father’s number. The interrogator called my father and asked him for a lawyer’s number. My father gave him the telephone number of a lawyer and the interrogator called her and allowed me to speak to her before he started to interrogate me. The lawyer advised me to remain silent.

 

Then the interrogator started to interrogate me. There was a camera in the room. The interrogator told me I was accused of being in possession of a knife and that I had intended to use it. I denied that I was going to use the knife and told him my intention was to get arrested because I was having issues with my father at home. I wanted to go to prison to get away from problems at home.

 

The interrogation lasted for about three hours. During the interrogation I confessed to things I hadn’t done, like throwing stones, Molotov cocktails and use of firearms. I was desperate to go to jail and was willing to say anything. The interrogator got angry and banged the table each time I gave him an answer that wasn’t convincing. The interrogator wanted me to confess that I had intended to use the knife. In the end I signed a document written in Hebrew after the interrogator translated it for me.

 

After the interrogation I was photographed and fingerprinted and put in a room for about 30 minutes. At around 5:00 p.m. I was taken by police car to Etzion settlement. I was still handcuffed. We arrived at Etzion at around 5:30 p.m. and I was asked about my health by a doctor. Then I was taken to an empty cell and my handcuffs were removed. I fell asleep.

 

At around 1:00 a.m. I was woken up by a soldier who took me to see an intelligence officer who introduced himself as "Ibrahim". He asked the soldier to handcuff and blindfold me which he did. I was handcuffed with metal handcuffs to the front. My feet were also shackled. Then I was taken to a vehicle where I sat in the back with a soldier next to me.

 

The vehicle drove for about five minutes before it stopped and I was taken to a room upstairs where the blindfold was removed. The intelligence officer was in the room. The soldier left the room and I was left alone with the intelligence officer for a third interrogation. He did not tell me about my rights.

 

The interrogator pointed out my family’s house on an aerial map on his computer screen. Then he wanted me to tell him what I intended to do with the knife. I told him that all I wanted was to go to prison to get away from my situation at home. He asked me about Molotov cocktails and shootings. I told him I falsely confessed to these things. The interrogation lasted for about an hour. In the end I felt the intelligence officer believed that I really wanted to get out of my family situation with my father.

 

The interrogator blindfolded me and took me to a military vehicle where I sat on a seat in the back. The vehicle drove for a short distance before it stopped and I was taken back to the cell. The blindfold and the handcuffs and shackles were removed and I went to sleep.

 

Later that morning a solder brought me some food. Then I was shackled, handcuffed and blindfolded and taken in a vehicle where I sat on a seat in the back. The vehicle drove for about one-and-a-half hours before it stopped and I was taken out. They removed the blindfold and I realised I was at Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. I was then thoroughly searched but allowed to keep my underwear on. The soldier who searched me made me crouch and stand up a couple of times. I was then given prison clothes and taken to Section 13 where I stayed with other prisoners my age.

 

On Tuesday, 29 April 2014, I was taken to Ofer military court where I saw my lawyer. My parents were not there. The hearing was adjourned to the following day and I was taken back to prison. On Wednesday, 30 April 2014, I was taken back to the military court. My father and my cousin were there. I was allowed to speak to my father across the court room. The hearing was adjourned for a week.

 

On Thursday, 1 May 2014, I was interrogated for a fourth time by an intelligence officer in civilian clothes. I was handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded. I was driven a short distance to another section of Ofer and taken to an interrogation room. Once inside the room, my blindfold was removed but I remained handcuffed and shackled. The interrogator introduced himself as "Captain Ben Lulu" and offered me coffee and chewing gum. He also offered me a cigarette but I refused. He did not inform me about my rights.

 

 

The following Wednesday, 7 May 2014, solders told me I had another military court hearing. In court I waited in the waiting room until around 3:00 p.m. Then I was taken into court where I saw the lawyer and my parents. The lawyer told me I was charged with possessing a knife and that I was going to be released at 6:00 p.m. after my family pays a fine of NIS 2,000. My father paid the fine and I was released at around 11:00 p.m.