Israel is increasingly imprisoning Palestinian children as young as 12 years old for throwing stones and other acts of resistance. Currently 343 children between 12 and 16 are in prison. Children as young as 16 can be tried as adults, despite the facts that Israelis can only be tried as adults when they are 18 years old.

The Guardian article can be found here.

He had been made to sign a statement in Hebrew, a language he doesn't speak or read. He was blindfolded and taken to Ofer military prison, where he arrived at 3.30am. "There were no other children," he said. "I was afraid." Three days after his arrest he appeared at a military court. But his father, who works as a tiler, could not afford the 2,000 shekels (£350) bail. "My father told them he couldn't pay this much money," said Al-Hasan. His father, who sat next to him through the interview, burst into tears.

Last Sunday the boy was freed under a bail arrangement in which his father faces arrest if his son does not appear at the next summons. "Even if he were throwing stones, he is only 13," said Fadel. "They treated him like a terrorist. They claim they are democratic and human, but they are not."

0 comments:

Subscribe