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Home » Children »

Testimony: MDS

Name: MDS
Age: 17 
Date of incident: 25 August 2013
Location: Beit Ummar, West Bank
Accusation: Throwing stones
                        
On 25 August 2013, a 17-year-old minor from Beit Ummar, near Bethlehem, was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 2:00 p.m. and accused of throwing stones. He reports ill-treatment and being denied his legal rights under Israeli military law. He reports being sentenced to 3 months in prison and fined NIS 2,000.
 
I was watching a demonstration near the settlement of Karmi Zur when all of a sudden four Israeli soldiers attacked me. They laid an ambush and caught me by surprise. It was around 2:00 p.m. They beat me, tied my hands behind my back with two plastic ties which they painfully wrapped together around both hands. The also blindfolded me.
 
The soldiers then put me in a troop carrier which drove to Etzion settlement. I sat on the seat in the troop carrier and the drive took about an hour. Soldiers left me alone and didn’t hurt me while the carrier drove.
 
On arrival at Etzion I was left in an open area for about five hours. I was surrounded by soldiers who were listening to music and having fun. I wasn’t given any food or drink and I didn’t use the bathroom. Then I was taken to the interrogation room.
 
The interrogator removed the blindfold and asked me if I threw stones. He didn’t tell me about my rights and didn’t ask me if I wanted to speak to a lawyer. He had a tape recorder in front of him.
 
I denied the accusation and told the interrogator I didn’t throw stones. He got angry and slapped me on the face. He also threatened to bring my parents to the interrogation room to question them. I was worried that he might hurt them. The interrogation lasted for about one hour and during this time I didn’t confess to anything. Then I was taken to a second interrogator who asked me the same questions. He told me his name was Eagel. Again I told him I didn’t throw stones.
 
At the end of the second interrogation the interrogator showed me a document written in Hebrew and asked me to sign it which I did. I am not sure what it said. The second interrogation lasted about half-an-hour.
 
After interrogation I was taken for a security check. They made me take off all my clothes including my underwear. Then I was taken to a cell in Etzion where I spent a night. In the morning they brought me some breakfast and told me they were going to take me to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. The trip to Ofer took a long time, almost the whole day. I arrived at Ofer in the afternoon.
 
The following day I was taken to the military court. It was in court that I saw my lawyer for the first time. The hearing was adjourned for two weeks. I had four court hearings and in the end I was sentenced to three months in prison and fined NIS 2,000 based on a confession by a boy who was arrested with me. I served my entire sentence in Ofer.
 
In prison I was allowed to study Hebrew, Arabic, English, mathematics and History. My parents did not visit me in prison because they were denied a permit. The only time I saw my family was in court. I was sentenced one month after I was arrested.