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Home » Children »

Testimony: Q.K.A.

Name: Q.K.A.
Age: 15 
Date of incident: 1 January 2014
Location: Dura, West Bank
Accusation: Throwing stones
                                                    
On 1 January 2014, a 15-year-old minor from Dura was detained by Israeli soldiers at 9:00 p.m. and accused of throwing stones. He reports ill-treatment and being denied his basic legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being detained for 5 days before being released without charge. 
 
I was arrested from home at around 9:00 p.m. I was chatting with my brothers when suddenly Israeli soldiers knocked at our door. My father wasn’t home, so my mother opened the door and about 20 soldiers entered our home. They immediately started to search our house.
 
After searching our house a soldier asked my mother about me. My mother pointed to me and the Captain, who introduced himself as Captain Yousef, the head of the intelligence office in the area, told my mother they were going to arrest me. They did not tell us where they were going to take me or why. The Captain asked my mother for my birth certificate. After checking my details they took me outside to where military jeeps were waiting.
 
Once outside the soldiers handcuffed my hands behind my back with metal handcuffs and blindfolded me. They pushed me into the back of the jeep and made me sit on the metal floor. There were soldiers in the jeep but they did not beat me. The jeep drove for about five minutes before it arrived at a nearby Israeli military camp. The soldiers took me out of the jeep and made me kneel on the ground. About 10 minutes later a soldier put me back into the jeep where I remained for about an hour. I was in the jeep by myself, blindfolded and cuffed.
 
After about one hour I was taken out of the jeep again and taken to an open area with other detainees. It was around 11:00 p.m. I remained there for about 10 minutes before I was given a medical examination. The doctor asked me if I suffered from any illnesses or allergies. He also took a DNA sample from my mouth. During the examination the doctor removed my handcuffs and the blindfold. Then a soldier took me outside and re-tied and blindfolded me. Then I was taken to a bus with other detainees. Once on the bus my handcuffs were removed and I was tied with a single plastic tie to the front. I was also blindfolded again.
 
The bus drove for about 30 minutes before it stopped at Kiryat Arba settlement. I was put inside a shipping container where a soldier removed the tie and the blindfold and took my fingerprints. Then I was taken back to the bus. They did the same to the other detainees on the bus. Then the bus drove for about another 30 minutes before it arrived at Etzion settlement and I was taken to the police station. I was searched and taken to a cell where I stayed with other prisoners my age. I was not given any food and I went to sleep.
 
At around 4:00 p.m. the following day (2 January 2014) I was handcuffed and shackled and taken in a military vehicle to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. The trip took about one hour. I was immediately taken to the military court at Ofer. A lawyer was there who said he was representing me. The hearing was adjourned till 6 January. I was then strip searched and given prison clothes before being taken to Cell 13 where there were other prisoners my age.
 
On 4 January, at around 2:00 p.m., an interrogator came to the cell and took me out. He shackled and handcuffed me and took me to an interrogation room. I was in the room with the interrogator by myself. The interrogator made me sit on a chair in front of the table. He did not tell me about my right to silent or my right to see a lawyer. He asked me for my father’s phone number.
 
The interrogator then showed me a photo and claimed it was a photo of me throwing stones. The picture wasn’t clear and I denied that it was me in the photo. The interrogator told me he was going to record everything I told him and he turned the tape recorder on. He also had a camera in the room. He repeated the accusation once again and told me I was accused of throwing stones at soldiers in our village. I denied the accusation. Then he threatened that if I didn’t confess he was going to arrest my elder brother and put him back in prison. My brother spent time in prison in the past. He also threatened to put me in prison for three years if I didn’t confess. I told him I had nothing to confess.
 
The interrogation lasted for about one-and-a-half hours. In the end he asked me to sign a document written in Hebrew which he claimed was my statement but I refused to sign it. He then signed it himself and sent me back to the prison.
 
On 6 January 2014, I had another military court hearing. My mother and my brother were in court and so was my lawyer. There was a discussion about my continued detention and my lawyer insisted on getting me released because of a lack of evidence and because I did not confess. This was exactly what happened. I was then released without charge and I went home with my mother and brother. We arrived home at around 4:00 p.m.