A Child’s Testimony
Pictured here: Fawzi al-Jundeidi, 16-years-old, was taken from a street near Bab iZaweyeh during an attack by the Israeli soldiers. Fawzi ran away as soldiers fired tear gas, was then ambushed by soldiers who were hiding. The soldiers him him in the chest with the butt of a gun at least five times, breaking his ribs in the upper part of his chest. Fawzi recounted later that he saw at least fifteen soldiers before they blindfolded, handcuffed him and beat him again, though photos show that at least twenty-three soldiers surrounded him and dragged him to Checkpoint 56 along with other detainees. Inside the checkpoint, soldiers beat the detainees’ hands and legs and poured cold water on Fawzi, then forced him to sit in a puddle in the corner. He was taken to two different police stations, where he was further interrogated and forced to sit on the ground. Israeli authorities examined him, noticed his battered condition but refused to admit him to a hospital. He was taken to Ofer prison in Ramallah. A judge ordered medical treatment, though the soldiers guarding him did not take him for treatment for at least four days. Fawzi was released on bail late at night on 27 December 2017, taken to the hospital, and then brought back to his family in al-Khalil. Four soldiers falsely testified that Fawzi threw stones, though three of them have withdrawn their testimony. He will have another court hearing in the beginning of January. The details of this report were recounted by Fawzi to CPT on the day of his release.
(12/28/2017)
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