sister_Harb
14-09-2006, 14:42
(Bethlehem) Najib Farag
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
The Palestinian Prisoner Society, legal and childhood rights institutions, and the international and local Red Cross, are pushing for the immediate release of Palestinian minors from Israeli prisons.
Children in Telmond Prison are in dire psychological and physical straights as reported by the Prisoner Society Wednesday. Israeli forces arrested 11 year old Mohammad Abdullah Mousa Othman and 13 year old Rafiq Mohammad Al Eisha nearly three weeks ago.
The western Ramallah’s Beit Ur At Tahta Village boys have been subject to severe beatings at the hands of Israeli soldiers. Members of the intelligence in charge of interrogating the children have beaten and threatened both and forced them to sign statements.
Prisoner Society lawyer Adal Khalaila met with the boys on 11 September and described their situation as “tragic.”
Khalaila said, “The minors have been thrown in with their elders and have no knowledge of the rules of law, and are clearly too young to adapt to prison life.”
He described Othman as a “tall, skinny boy in prison contrary to all norms of international law. It is also contrary to Israeli law which does not allow arresting Palestinians under 12 years old.”
The lawyer reported that Israeli soldiers arrested the 11 year old from the streets of his village on 25 August under the pretext that he had thrown stones at Israeli forces.
The boy was taken to a mountain high above the town and held there for seven to eight hours. He was handcuffed and blindfolded the entire time. One of the Israeli soldiers put his cigarette out in the boy’s hand. Othman was then taken to a military installation for investigation in the Israeli settlement of Givat Ze’ev west of Ramallah in the West Bank. He was interrogated into the morning hours of the second day.
Khalaila stated that due to the boy’s young age and lack of maturity or knowledge of how to handle the torturous investigations that most Palestinian males undergo at some point in their lives, he signed the investigators’ report without knowing the content. “He was under threat and intimidation, beatings and insults.”
None of the child’s family members have been allowed to visit him and it remains unknown when or if he will be released. The Israeli military court has held three hearings for the boy since his arrest.
The second minor that the Palestinian Prisoner Society focused on in today’s report is 13 year old Rafiq Mohammad Al Aisha. Israeli soldiers took him in the same manner as the 11 year old: from the streets of Beit Ur At Tahta Village, west of Ramallah, accusing him of throwing stones at Israeli forces.
Khalaila sat with Al Aisha as he reported what has happened to him. Israeli soldiers and interrogators have repeatedly punched the 13 year old in the face and kicked him in the legs and backside. The boy said that he was not throwing stones, denying the charge against him. He was forced under threat to sign a statement of unknown content.
The Prisoner Society attorney reported that both children are experiencing difficulty speaking and expressing themselves, and in understanding what is being said to them. Khalaila concluded reporting the sworn statements by saying that the boys are not pronouncing words clearly.
The Israeli authorities have arrested over 5,000 Palestinian minors since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000. Still in Israeli prisons are 350 Palestinians aged 11 through 17 years.
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
The Palestinian Prisoner Society, legal and childhood rights institutions, and the international and local Red Cross, are pushing for the immediate release of Palestinian minors from Israeli prisons.
Children in Telmond Prison are in dire psychological and physical straights as reported by the Prisoner Society Wednesday. Israeli forces arrested 11 year old Mohammad Abdullah Mousa Othman and 13 year old Rafiq Mohammad Al Eisha nearly three weeks ago.
The western Ramallah’s Beit Ur At Tahta Village boys have been subject to severe beatings at the hands of Israeli soldiers. Members of the intelligence in charge of interrogating the children have beaten and threatened both and forced them to sign statements.
Prisoner Society lawyer Adal Khalaila met with the boys on 11 September and described their situation as “tragic.”
Khalaila said, “The minors have been thrown in with their elders and have no knowledge of the rules of law, and are clearly too young to adapt to prison life.”
He described Othman as a “tall, skinny boy in prison contrary to all norms of international law. It is also contrary to Israeli law which does not allow arresting Palestinians under 12 years old.”
The lawyer reported that Israeli soldiers arrested the 11 year old from the streets of his village on 25 August under the pretext that he had thrown stones at Israeli forces.
The boy was taken to a mountain high above the town and held there for seven to eight hours. He was handcuffed and blindfolded the entire time. One of the Israeli soldiers put his cigarette out in the boy’s hand. Othman was then taken to a military installation for investigation in the Israeli settlement of Givat Ze’ev west of Ramallah in the West Bank. He was interrogated into the morning hours of the second day.
Khalaila stated that due to the boy’s young age and lack of maturity or knowledge of how to handle the torturous investigations that most Palestinian males undergo at some point in their lives, he signed the investigators’ report without knowing the content. “He was under threat and intimidation, beatings and insults.”
None of the child’s family members have been allowed to visit him and it remains unknown when or if he will be released. The Israeli military court has held three hearings for the boy since his arrest.
The second minor that the Palestinian Prisoner Society focused on in today’s report is 13 year old Rafiq Mohammad Al Aisha. Israeli soldiers took him in the same manner as the 11 year old: from the streets of Beit Ur At Tahta Village, west of Ramallah, accusing him of throwing stones at Israeli forces.
Khalaila sat with Al Aisha as he reported what has happened to him. Israeli soldiers and interrogators have repeatedly punched the 13 year old in the face and kicked him in the legs and backside. The boy said that he was not throwing stones, denying the charge against him. He was forced under threat to sign a statement of unknown content.
The Prisoner Society attorney reported that both children are experiencing difficulty speaking and expressing themselves, and in understanding what is being said to them. Khalaila concluded reporting the sworn statements by saying that the boys are not pronouncing words clearly.
The Israeli authorities have arrested over 5,000 Palestinian minors since the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000. Still in Israeli prisons are 350 Palestinians aged 11 through 17 years.