Testimony: M.N.A.D.
| Name: | M.N.A.D. |
| Age: | 16 |
| Date of incident: | 10 October 2016 |
| Location: | Aida camp, West Bank |
| Accusation: | Throwing stones |
On 10 October 2016, a 16-year-old minor from Aida refugee camp was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 4:00 p.m. during clashes and accused of throwing stones. He reports ill treatment. He reports consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation and being informed of his right to silence. He was sentenced to 8 months in prison and fined NIS 3,000.
There were clashes with Israeli soldiers on the main street in our camp at around 4:00 p.m. Suddenly a group of undercover soldiers grabbed me and some other boys. They immediately started to beat me. Then they blindfolded me and tied my hands to the front with one plastic tie which was tight. Then they led me to the nearby military base at Rachel’s Tomb. At the base they made me kneel on the floor until around 1:00 a.m.At around 1:00 a.m. I was put in the back of a military jeep where I sat on a seat. The jeep stopped at Atarot police station, in East Jerusalem. I was taken to a courtyard with other detainees and I sat on a chair until around 9:00 a.m. It was a very cold night.
At around 9:00 a.m. a lawyer came to the police station and spoke to me and the other boys. He told me to remain silent. Then I was taken for interrogation.
Before interrogating me the interrogator told me I had the right to remain silent and the right to consult with a lawyer. Then he accused me of throwing stones at soldiers and of hitting a soldier in the eye. In the beginning I denied the accusation but later I confessed to throwing one stone which missed.
The interrogator then printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it and I did after he translated it for me and it was identical to what I had said. Then they photographed me and took my fingerprints and took me to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. At Ofer I was strip searched and taken into Section 13.
The following day I was taken to Ofer military court which my parents and my lawyer attended and I was allowed to speak to them. The hearing was adjourned. I had about 25 hearings which my lawyer kept adjourning because the prosecutor wanted to put me in prison for more than a year. The charge sheet said I threw stones at soldiers and I hit one of the soldiers and caused physical injury and property damage.
In the end my lawyer and the prosecutor agreed on a plea bargain which included amending the charge sheet to say I threw stones without causing damage. In the plea bargain I was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined NIS 3,000 shekels. In addition, I received a suspended sentence of 12 months valid for 5 years.
I spent 5 months of my sentence at Ofer and then I was transferred to Megiddo prison, inside Israel. I was released on 9 May 2017, and I took a taxi home.
