Comparative graph
Statistics
Developments
Fact sheet
Newsletter
About us
Contact
Donate
 
Bookmark and Share
  change font size تصغير الخط تكبير الخط print
Home » Children »

Testimony: A.M.I.A.

 

Name: A.M.I.A.
Age: 15
Date: 19 April 2019
Location: Kafr Ni'meh, West Bank
Accusation: Throwing stones

On 19 April 2019, a 15-year-old minor from Kafr Ni’meh was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 2:30 p.m. near a road used by settlers and accused of throwing stones. He reports ill treatment. He reports consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation but not being informed of this right to silence by the interrogator. He was sentenced to 45 days in prison and fined NIS 2,000.

I was with my friends in the fields near route 463 which is used by settlers. It was around 2:30 p.m. Suddenly I was ambushed by a group Israeli soldiers. They swore at me and called me “a son of a whore” and shot in my direction. I tried to run as fast as I could but I tripped and fell to the ground and the soldiers got hold of me. 
 
One of the soldiers beat me on my back and painfully twisted my arms behind my back. Then he blindfolded me and asked me if I was scared. I did not answer. Then he hit me hard on my leg with the back of his gun and caused me a lot of pain. Then he tied my hands behind my back with two plastic ties. The ties were tight and painful. 
 
The soldiers then led me towards a military jeep. One of the soldiers pushed me into the back of the jeep and I sat on a seat. Other soldiers came into the jeep and made me sit on the metal floor. Then the jeep drove to a nearby military base.
 
On arrival at the base I was taken to a shipping container and I sat on a chair. I spent two nights in the container. The first night I was by myself and the second night a soldier was with me. They brought me food but I did not eat and they brought me water. I was tied and blindfolded but whenever the soldier left the container I managed to pull down the blindfold because I could not tolerate it. Later I was taken to the police station in Binyamin settlement for interrogation.
 
The interrogator removed the ties and re-tied my hands to the front. He also removed the blindfold. He phoned a lawyer and I spoke to him. The lawyer told me to remain silent and not be scared. I spoke to the lawyer on speaker phone for about a minute and the interrogator was listening. The interrogator did not inform me of my right to silence. 
 
Then he asked me for my name and told me I was arrested on the road and wanted to know who was with me. I gave him the names of my friends. The interrogation lasted for about an hour.
 
At the end of the interrogation he gave me a document written in Hebrew and asked me to sign it but I refused to sign and asked for an Arabic translation. He gave me a translation and it was a document about my legal rights. I signed it.
 
Then I was taken to Ofer prison, near Jerusaelm, where I was strip searched. Afterwards I was taken to see a doctor because my leg was swollen and caused me a lot of pain. I was limping. I was taken to a hospital where they took an X-Ray of my leg. My leg was bound and I was taken back to Ofer prison.
 
The following day I was taken to Ofer military court. My parents were there and the hearing was adjourned. I had four military court hearings and at the last one, which was four days before I was released, I was sentenced in a plea bargain to 45 days in prison and fined NIS 2,000. I also received a suspended sentence of three months valid for three years. I was not even asked whether I accepted the plea bargain; my lawyer did everything on my behalf.
 
I was released on 19 May 2019. I arrived home with my father at around 6:00 p.m. I was bored in prison and there was not much to do except chat with the other prisoners. My parents did not visit me in prison because they were not issued a permit in time.