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Home » Children »

Testimony: M.D.B.

 

Name: MDB
Age: 16
Date of incident: 2 February 2014
Location: Al 'Arrub refugee camp, West Bank
Accusation: Throwing stones/Molotov cocktail
                        
On 2 February 2014, a 16-year-old minor from Al 'Arrub was arrested by Israeli soldiers at 1:00 a.m. and accused of throwing stones and a Molotov cocktail. He reports ill treatment and being denied his basic rights under Israeli military law. He reports being released without charge 13 hours later. 
 
I was asleep when I woke up and heard loud banging at our front door. It was around 1:00 a.m. Israeli soldiers were shouting telling us to open the door. My father was in Jordan and so I got up and opened the door. About eight soldiers entered our home and a soldier told me to fetch my ID card. I told him I didn’t yet have an ID card so he checked the information on my mother’s card and compared it to a list of names he had. Then he started to shout and said he had seen me throwing stones and I was under arrest. He told me I had one minute to get dressed.
 
After I got dressed the soldiers dragged me out of our house and shut the door, preventing my mother from following us. Once outside my hands were tied behind my back with three plastic ties. The ties were very painful and I complained. A soldier then removed the ties and tied my hands to the front using three ties. I was not blindfolded. I was then pushed to make me walk and a soldier started to swear at me for no reason. I was taken to another part of the camp where two soldiers started to beat me and slap me on my face. One of the soldiers punched me in the eye.
 
A short time later I was led to the main road (Route 60) where a number of Israeli military vehicles were waiting. There were lots of soldiers there including an intelligence officer who I had seen before. The intelligence officer got angry when he saw that I was tied and ordered a soldier to remove them. I was then put in the back of a military jeep and made to sit on the metal floor. As soon as the jeep began to move a soldier re-tied my hands. Then the soldiers started to slap me and to swear. One of the soldiers hit me on my head with his helmet. A soldier asked my why I throw stones at them which I denied. They then started to kick me which was painful.
 
A short time later the jeep arrived at Etzion junction. It was around 2:00 a.m. I was taken out of the jeep and I saw a doctor. The doctor asked me if I suffered from any illnesses or allergies. I was then put back into a military vehicle. As soon as I was inside the vehicle a soldier slapped me and I shouted. The doctor heard me shouting and came to the back of the vehicle and asked me what had happened. The doctor called the soldier who slapped me and asked him to get out of the vehicle and not to hit me again. The commander then got into the troop carrier I think to stop the soldiers from beating me.
 
About five minutes later we arrived at the police station in Etzion settlement. When I got out of the vehicle a soldier tapped me on my head and the minute I turned to face him he punched me in the eye. I screamed but no one seemed to care. Then the soldiers took me to the main courtyard in Etzion and made me sit on the ground in the cold for about half an hour. Then I was taken with other detainees to a very small room which didn’t have any windows. They made us crouch and did not allow us to speak. My hands were still tied. One of the other detainees saw that my eye was red and irritated. I tried to explain to him what had happened but a soldier hit me on the head. I didn’t speak anymore.
 
At around 10:00 a.m. I was taken to an interrogation room. I was alone in the room with the interrogator. He did not inform me that I had any rights. He was holding a metal chain, pliers and something that looked like a taser. I don’t recall whether there was a tape recorder or not.
 
The interrogator asked me whether I knew why I was there. I told him I thought the soldiers had made a mistake by arresting me and that they were probably after someone else. The interrogator told me soldiers don’t make mistakes. Then he told me I was there because I was a gang leader. I denied this and told him I only went to school and back home and I wasn’t involved in anything. Then he accused me of throwing a Molotov cocktail. When I denied the accusation he hit me on my chest. Then he told me to take my time and to think and then to let him know why I throw stones and Molotov cocktails. After an hour of interrogation a soldier took me back to the courtyard and made me sit on the ground. My hands were still tied.
 
I stayed in the courtyard for about one hour. At around 12:00 p.m. another interrogator came and introduced himself as Yona and took me for another round of interrogation. Again I was alone with him and my hands were tied. The interrogator claimed that I threw stones at soldiers the previous day. I denied the accusation and told him I was in Hebron that day taking part in a football tournament. I told him he could check with my coach to see that I was telling the truth. Then he started to record what I was telling him. He repeated the questions and I continued to deny the accusations.
 
At the end of the interrogation the interrogator printed out my statement in Hebrew and asked me to sign it but I refused. Then he told me I was entitled to consult with a lawyer under the law. He phoned a lawyer from Al 'Arrub but the lawyer did not answer his phone.
 
After the interrogation was over I was taken out of the room and made to sit on the ground while hand tied for nearly two hours. I wasn’t given any food. At around 2:00 p.m. soldiers came and told me I was going to be released. They took me out where the brother of another detainee was waiting. He took me home to my family. I was released without charge.