Testimony: A.Y.Z.
| Name: |
A.Y.Z. |
Age:
|
17 |
| Date of incident: |
11 May 2014 |
Location:
|
Halhul, West Bank |
| Accusation: |
Throwing stones |
On 11 May 2014, a 17-year-old minor from Halhul was interrogated inside Etzion settlement after receiving a written summons delivered by the army at 2:00 a.m. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic rights under Israeli military law. He reports being sentenced to 5 months in prison, fined NIS 2,000 and receiving an additional suspended sentence.
On 7 May 2014, Israeli soldiers came to our home at around 2.00 a.m. to arrest my brother. While there they handed my father a summons telling me to go to the Israeli police station in Etzion settlement for questioning.
On 11 May 2014, I went with my father to the police station inside the settlement. We arrived there at around 9.00 a.m. The interrogator took me to an interrogation room by myself. I sat in the room for about an hour while my father waited outside. The interrogator, who introduced himself as "Benny", came in and sat in the room with me for about 30 minutes without saying a word. He just stared at me without saying anything. He then allowed my father into the room. The interrogator immediately started to interrogate me but did not inform me of my right to silence or of my right to see a lawyer.
The interrogator accused me of throwing stones and Molotov cocktail at soldiers. I denied the accusation. The interrogator then showed me a photograph. I denied the photograph was of me. The interrogator told my father he was sure I threw stones and that he should have prevented me from doing so. My father told him this was not true and that I spend most of my time at home. Two hours later the interrogator told my father to leave the room and that he had decided to detain me. My father left.
The interrogator then handcuffed me and continued to interrogate me. This time he was more aggressive. He swore at me and called my mother and sisters "whores". He also slapped me and told me there were confessions against me from other young people from the village who claimed I was throwing stones and Molotov cocktails with them. I asked the interrogator to mention their names and to confront me with them. He told me this was going to happen later. I continued to deny all the accusations and did not confess. The second round of interrogation continued until around 5.00 p.m.
In the end the interrogator printed out a document in Hebrew and asked me to sign it. He told me it was what I had told him. I refused to sign the document. The interrogator then told me I would to be convicted in a military court based on the confessions of others.
I was then photographed and fingerprinted and taken to a cell with a bed. I was in the cell by myself. I remained in the cell until around 8.30 p.m., when soldiers shackled me and handcuffed me and put me in a troop carrier. The carrier drove for a long time before it finally arrived at Ofer prison, near Jerusalem, at around 2.00 a.m. At Ofer I was strip searched. I was then given prison clothes and taken into Section 13.
On the morning of 13 May 2014, a soldier told me I had a military court hearing but instead of going to court I was taken for another interrogation by the Shin Bet inside Ofer. The interrogator was wearing civilian clothes and spoke very good Arabic. The interrogator did not inform me of my right to silence or of my right to see a lawyer.
The interrogator accused me of throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. I told him this was not true. The interrogation lasted for about 30 minutes. He mentioned some names of young people from the village whom he claimed had testified against me. I told him I didn’t know them. He then showed me a photograph but I denied that the photograph was of me. The interrogation was over very quickly and I did not confess to anything. The interrogator called my parents and allowed me to speak to them. I told them I was at Ofer. The interrogator asked my parents to appoint me a lawyer. I was then taken back to prison.
On 15 May 2014, I had a military court hearing. A lawyer was there to represent me and he requested the hearing to be adjourned. My parents attended the hearing and I was allowed to speak to them across the court room.
Ten days later I had another hearing. A different lawyer represented me this time. In the beginning the prosecution requested 12 months imprisonment for me but my lawyer proposed a plea bargain in which I was sentenced to five months in prison and given a suspended sentence of 12 months valid for three years. I was also fined NIS 2,000.
I spent my entire prison sentence at Ofer. My parents visited me frequently. In prison I studied English and Arabic. I was released on 28 September 2014.
