Military Order 1745
[30 October 2014] - Israeli Military Order 1745 came into effect on 10 September 2014 and provides for the audio-visual recording of police interrogations of minors in “non-security” related offences in the West Bank. The order also stipulates that the interrogations should be conducted and documented in the language of the accused, which in virtually every case, is Arabic. This follows calls for the audio-visual recording of all interrogations of minors in the military court system by, inter alia, the UN Committee against Torture (2009), UN Human Rights Committee (2010), UK lawyers (2012), UNICEF (2013) and the UK Government (2013).
However, a number of issues of concern remain following the introduction of Military Order 1745:
- The overwhelming majority of cases involving the prosecution of Palestinian minors in the military courts are defined as “security offences” by the Israeli military authorities to which the new order does not apply.
- There is no provision in the new order requiring that the audio-visual tapes of interrogations be provided to defence counsel prior to the first hearing in every case in accordance with a recommendation included in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office funded report: Children in Military Custody (2012).
Due to the limited application of the new order the amendment will have no impact or add any additional protection to minors accused of “security offences”. Accordingly, the interrogation of Palestinian minors may still be documented in Hebrew without being audio-visually recorded in cases involving allegations of stone-throwing or participating in an unauthorised protest. The new order will apply to traffic offences and to cases involving the entry into Israel without a permit.
The order was issued by Major General Nitzan Alon, Commander of the Israeli Defence Forces in the West Bank, and was published in both Hebrew and Arabic. An unofficial translation of the order is also available in English.
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