RAMALLAH-Palestine News Network
The Detainees and Ex-detainees Affairs Commission reported on Sunday that Palestinian minor prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails were subjected to physical torture during their arrest and interrogation.
The commission reported the testimonies of several minor inmates who said that they have been subjected to torture and physical abuse during their arrest and throughout their interrogation.
Reporting on one of the cases, the commission said 16-year-old prisoner Ziad Abu Ja’as from Jenin testified that he was beaten hard by Israeli soldiers who raided his family home in middle of the night. He was then taken to Al-Jalameh interrogation center near Haifa where he was forced to undergo a naked bodily inspection.
In a similar case, 17-year-old Wa’ad Tanatra from the village of Umm Safa, near Ramallah, testified that he was severally beaten by Israeli soldiers who hit him with the butts of their rifles, although he was eye-folded and hand-cuffed.
He said the Israeli prison authorities on Ofer prison have not yet offered him medical treatment for the pain that he has sustained as a result of the bodily assaults.
Another case, 19-year-old Morad Ata from the village of Deir Abu Meshal also said he was severally beaten by Israeli soldiers n his face and back with the butts of their rifles. He added that he was further assaulted during interrogation in Benjamin police center.
To be noted, Israel is the only state to automatically and systematically prosecute children in military courts that lack basic standards of due process.
