Sunday 1 February 2015

Palestinian minors speak of beatings, mistreatment in Israeli custody



(MaanImages/file)
 
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A lawyer for the Department of Prisoner Affairs visited Palestinian minors in Israeli custody and released a report Saturday on their mistreatment by Israeli forces.Hiba Masalha said in a statement that many of the minors spoke of being assaulted and beaten during their arrests and throughout interrogation.

Malek Hamdan, a 16-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem, was beaten to the point of his bones being fractured while he was held at the Russian Compound detention center, the statement said.

Additionally, 17-year-old prisoner Muhammad Abd al-Fattah Radwan, from Qalqiliya, told Masalha that during his detention, he was assaulted and dragged for a long distance while handcuffed and blindfolded.

Radwan was held at the al-Jalama detention center for 15 days. He was interrogated for several hours each day while tied to a small chair.

The teen said he was held in a small, filthy, cold room with the lights kept on all day and all night.

Another prisoner, 16-year-old Muhammad Yousef Ikhleil from Hebron, was detained on Nov. 1 while he was on his way home from school. He is currently being held in HaSharon prison.

Ikhleil said he was shot with a live bullet in the thigh, and while he was being detained, he lost a lot of blood as Israeli soldiers beat him.

He was moved to the Soroka Hospital in Beersheba for treatment, where he was kept in the ICU for three days and underwent a bone surgery for his thigh injury.

Ikhleil said he was interrogated for an hour while at the hospital, and that he was shackled to the bed for 24 hours while guards watched him.

He was taken to the al-Ramla Hospital where he stayed for two months before being moved to HaSharon prison.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old prisoner Hussam Omar Muhammad Abu Khalifa from Bethlehem is suffering from depression and needs constant medical care.

Hussam is currently being held in HaSharon prison.

According to a 2015 report by the Child Rights International Network, some 700 Palestinian children per year are arrested and face "ill-treatment" by Israeli forces.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
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