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Home » Children »

Testimony: M.I.M.B.

 

Name: M.I.M.B.
Age: 13
Date of incident: 6 October 2016
Location: Aida camp, West Bank
Accusation: Throwing stones

On 6 October 2016, a 13-year-old minor from Aida refugee camp was arrested by Israeli soldiers from home at 4:00 a.m. and accused of throwing stones. He reports ill treatment. He reports consulting with a lawyer prior to interrogation but not being informed of his right to silence by the interrogator. He reports being released without charge 5 days later. 

My father woke me up at around 4:00 a.m. and told me Israeli soldiers were in our house looking for me. He told me they wanted to arrest me. I got up and went to the living room and the commander asked me for my name. Then he asked me for my identity card and I told him I didn’t have one yet because of my age. Then he told me to get dressed because I was under arrest. I asked to use the toilet and the commander sent a soldier with me.
 
The commander gave my father a document with details about my arrest and told him they were going to take me to the police station in Salah al Din street, East Jerusalem, for questioning.  They said I was accused of throwing stones at soldiers.
 
The soldiers searched our house and then took me outside before I managed to put my shoes on. I was arrested in my slippers. Once outside I was blindfolded and handcuffed with my hands behind my back. The handcuffs were tight. My mother tried to prevent the soldiers from arresting me and in response the soldiers slapped and kicked me while she watched. Then they pushed me to the ground and three soldiers beat me very hard.
 
Then the soldiers walked me through the camp while they made more arrests and led me towards Rachel’s Tomb. When we arrived at Rachel's Tomb they made me sit on the ground near the gate for about 15 minutes.
 
After about 15 minutes I was taken to the back of a military jeep where I sat on a seat and the jeep drove for about 30 minutes to the police station in Sahah al Din street. There they made me sit on a chair in a room until around 9:00 a.m. when I was taken for interrogation.
 
The interrogator had a tape recorder in front of him. He removed the handcuffs and the blindfold and asked me if I wanted to consult with a lawyer and I told him I did. He called a lawyer and asked me to speak to him. The lawyer told me not to be scared and wanted to know the reason for my arrest and I told him I didn’t know. Neither the lawyer nor the interrogator told me I had the right to silence. Then the interrogator started to question me.
 
He told me I was accused of throwing stones at soldiers and that a boy had testified against me. He told me the name of the boy and I told the interrogator I knew the boy but I didn’t throw stones at anyone. He then told me he had pictures of me throwing stones at soldiers. I asked him to show me the pictures but he never did. The interrogation lasted for about an hour. During the interrogation he spoke to me in a loud voice to scare me and slapped and kicked me each time I denied the accusation.
 
At the end of the interrogation he printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it but I refused. I wanted to know what was written in the document but he told me I better sign it without interfering in his job. I then signed it because I was afraid he might beat me if I didn’t.
 
The interrogator then took my photograph and fingerprints and took mento another room where I sat on a chair. I was blindfolded and handcuffed again. I asked a policeman for some food but he did not respond. Instead he wanted to know why I did not bring my own food with me. I remained at the police station until around 5:00 p.m. 
 
At around 5:00 p.m. I was taken back to a jeep where I sat on a seat. The jeep drove for about an hour to Ofer prison, near Jerusalem. At Ofer I was strip searched and taken to a prison cell. The following day I was taken to Ofer military court. My parents were not there because they were not informed but a lawyer was there to represent me. The hearing was adjourned.
 
I was released without charge on 10 October 2016, without having to attend a second hearing. I was released at around 6:00 p.m. and one of the boys who was released with me called my parents and they came and picked me up. I arrived home at around 9:00 p.m.