Rights group: Teen tortured, held by Israeli forces
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian rights group Addameer said it received a sworn affidavit from a 17-year-old boy who said he was detained by Israeli forces at a West Bank checkpoint and tortured.
The boy, identified as Emad Al-Ashhab, remains in Israeli custody under his third Administrative Detention order following his incarceration on 21 February from the Container checkpoint on the Wadi Nar road between Bethlehem and Ramallah.
"Israeli soldiers covered his face with a woolen bag and beat him with a stick all over his body while both his hands and feet remained shackled. The soldiers also burnt his hand with cigarettes while they tightened the shackles around his wrists," a statement from Addameer attorney Anan Odeh reported.
The sworn testimony from the teenager was made public by the rights organization on Friday, and said the boy was interrogated for five days at Israel's Ofer Military Base near Ramallah.
Emad told the lawyer that he was questioned about his political affiliations by Israeli Security Agency officers, and said he was not guilty of any of the accusations thrown at him.
"Under the Israeli military orders that govern the occupied Palestinian territory, membership in an organization – be it a political party or a charitable organization – that is declared illegal by the Israeli military commander is considered an offense. However, Emad has never been charged with any offense, and no evidence supporting the interrogators’ allegation has been disclosed to Emad or his lawyer," the rights group explained.
Addameer issued an urgent appeal on behalf of the young man, describing it as a case through which the organization challenge the Israeli system of Administrative Detentions, a procedure legalized under Israeli military order 1591, that allows the Israeli military to hold detainees indefinitely on secret evidence without charging them or allowing them to stand trial.
Orders are handed down for periods of up to six months and are infinitely renewable.
The boy, identified as Emad Al-Ashhab, remains in Israeli custody under his third Administrative Detention order following his incarceration on 21 February from the Container checkpoint on the Wadi Nar road between Bethlehem and Ramallah.
"Israeli soldiers covered his face with a woolen bag and beat him with a stick all over his body while both his hands and feet remained shackled. The soldiers also burnt his hand with cigarettes while they tightened the shackles around his wrists," a statement from Addameer attorney Anan Odeh reported.
The sworn testimony from the teenager was made public by the rights organization on Friday, and said the boy was interrogated for five days at Israel's Ofer Military Base near Ramallah.
Emad told the lawyer that he was questioned about his political affiliations by Israeli Security Agency officers, and said he was not guilty of any of the accusations thrown at him.
"Under the Israeli military orders that govern the occupied Palestinian territory, membership in an organization – be it a political party or a charitable organization – that is declared illegal by the Israeli military commander is considered an offense. However, Emad has never been charged with any offense, and no evidence supporting the interrogators’ allegation has been disclosed to Emad or his lawyer," the rights group explained.
Addameer issued an urgent appeal on behalf of the young man, describing it as a case through which the organization challenge the Israeli system of Administrative Detentions, a procedure legalized under Israeli military order 1591, that allows the Israeli military to hold detainees indefinitely on secret evidence without charging them or allowing them to stand trial.
Orders are handed down for periods of up to six months and are infinitely renewable.
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ACT NOW!
Here is how you can help Emad Shab:
- Send Emad letters of support to his postal address in prison: Ofer Prison, Givat Zeev, P.O. Box 3007, via Israel
- Write to the Israeli government, military and legal authorities and demand that Emad Al-Ashhab be released immediately and that his administrative detention not be renewed.
- Write to your own elected representatives urging them to pressure Israel to release Emad Al-Ashhab and to put an end to such an unjust, arbitrary and cruel system of incarceration without trial.
