Detention Bulletin

April 2012
DETENTION FIGURES 220 children detained ( 7%) 33 aged 12-15 ( 7%) 0 children in Admin. Detention 0 girls in detention RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AlJazeera An interview with Jeff Halper on the likely annexation of 60 percent of the West Bank by Israel (Area C). New DCI report - Bound, Blindfolded and Convicted: Children held in military detention. New DCI report Recruitment and use of Palestinian children in armed conflict. Urgent Appeal DCI re-issues an urgent appeal on behalf of children arrested from the town of Beit Ummar, near Bethlehem. Urgent Appeal An appeal on behalf of children held in solitary confinement.

Fathers waiting at Ofer military court Photo credit: Sylvie Le Clezio

April 2012 Overview

This month saw a 7 percent increase in the number of children prosecuted in the Israeli military courts and imprisoned. This is the fourth consecutive month in which a rise in the number of children in detention has been recorded. There has been a 63 percent increase in the number of children held in military detention since December 2011. This month also saw a 7 percent increase in the number of young children (12-15 years) being detained. On 4 April, DCI re-issued an Urgent Appeal on behalf of the children of Beit Ummar. The town of Beit Ummar is situated half-way between Bethlehem and Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. Every Friday, residents of Beit Ummar hold a demonstration near the settlement of Karmi Zur in protest against being denied access to their agricultural land. Each year, numerous children from the town are arrested in the middle of the night and accused of throwing stones. The frequent use of night raids to arrest children has a devastating effect on the psychological well-being of the affected families and their sense of security and stability. The overwhelming majority of the children detained also report being subjected to verbal and physical abuse.

CONTENTS
12 to 15 year olds Girls in detention Administrative detention Recent case summaries Other developments Recommendations
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500 400 300 200 100 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Caption describing picture or graphic.

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Number of Palestinian children in Israeli detention: Jan 2008 Apr 2012

DCI-Palestine Detention Bulletin, Issue 28 April 2012

April 2012 IN FIGURES

Each year approximately 500 - 700 Palestinian children, some as young as 12 years, are detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system. The most common charge is for throwing stones. The overwhelming majority of these children are detained inside Israel in contravention of Article 76 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Total number of Palestinian children in Israeli detention at the end of each month since Jan 2009 - Note: These figures are not cumulative
Jan 2009 2010 2011 2012 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Aver.

Total
According to the latest figures compiled by DCI-Palestine from sources including the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) and Israeli army temporary detention facilities, there were 220 Palestinian children (12-17 years) in Israeli detention at the end of April 2012. This represents an increase of 14 children (7%) from the previous month.

389 318 222 170

423 343 221 187

420 342 226 206

391 335 220 220

346 305 211 -

355 291 209 -

342 284 202 -

339 286 180 -

326 269 164 -

325 256 150 -

306 228 161 -

305 213 135 -

355 289 192 196

12-15 year olds

In April there was an increase in the number of young children (12-15 years) being prosecuted in Israeli military courts and receiving custodial sentences in prisons inside Israel. As at the end of April, there were 33 young children in detention, an increase of two children (7%) from the previous month.

Number of young (12-15) Palestinians in Israeli detention at the end of each month since January 2009 - Note: These figures are not cumulative
Jan 2009 2010 2011 2012 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Aver.

50 44 34 26

54 41 45 24

53 39 45 31

47 32 37 33

39 25 38 -

47 23 38 -

42 18 40 -

39 20 34 -

40 32 35 -

44 34 30 -

41 32 33 -

42 30 19 -

44 31 36 29

Girls in detention
There are currently no Palestinian girls being held in Israeli detention facilities.

Number of Palestinian girls in Israeli detention at the end of each month since January 2009 - Note: These figures are not cumulative
Jan 2009 2010 2011 2012 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Aver.

5 0 1 0

7 0 0 0

6 0 0 0

6 1 0 0

6 0 0 -

5 0 0 -

4 0 0 -

3 0 0 -

3 0 0 -

0 0 0 -

0 1 0 -

0 1 1 -

3.8 0.3 0.2 0

Administrative detention
There are currently no Palestinian children being held without charge or trial in Israeli administrative detention.

Number of Palestinian children held in Israeli administrative detention at the end of each month since January 2009 - Note: These figures are not cumulative
Jan 2009 2010 2011 2012 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Aver.

5 0 1 0

6 0 0 0

2 2 0 0

2 2 0 0

1 2 0 -

1 2 0 -

1 2 0 -

1 2 0 -

1 2 0 -

1 2 0 -

1 2 0 -

0 1 1 -

1.8 1.6 0.2 0

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DCI-Palestine Detention Bulletin, Issue 28 April 2012

Urgent Appeals
UA 1/12 Solitary confinement UA 6/11 Children of BeitUmmar UA 4/11 Children of Azzun UA 3/11 Settler violence UA 2/11 Children of Silwan UA 4/10 Children of the Gravel

Voices from the Occupation

Name: Date of arrest: Age: Location: Accusation: Omar H. 23 April 2012 13 At Tur, East Jerusalem Throwing stones

Voices from the Occupation

Voices 17-year-old from Azzun Voices Human shield Voices Solitary confinement Voices 16-year-old Beit Ummar Voices 17-year-old from Haris Voices 15-year-old from Azzun Voices 16-year-old Beit Ummar Voices Solitary confinement Voices East Jerusalem Voices Solitary confinement Voices Solitary confinement Voices 13-year-old from Azzun Voices 15-year-old from Azzun Voices 16-year-old from Azzun Voices Use of dogs More

On 23 April 2012, a 13-year-old boy from occupied East Jerusalem is arrested by Israeli forces at 5:00 am and accused of throwing stones. Thirteen-year-old Omar woke at 5:00 am to the sound of Israeli forces breaking down the door to the family home in the At Tur neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. We were terrified by the way they stormed the house, recalls Omar. The men identified themselves as Israeli intelligence and then asked for Omar. What do you want with him? asked Omars father. Dont ask. We want him, and thats all, one of the men replied. Where are you going to take him? asked Omars father. I said dont ask and I wont answer you. Were taking him and thats it, replied the man. Omar was then grabbed and taken outside the house. Once outside the men tied Omars hands with a single plastic tie and blindfolded him. Omar recalls that his head slammed into the side of a vehicle as he tried to climb inside. He also recalls being hit by the man sitting next to him every time he leant against him. Omar was transferred to Al Mascobiyya interrogation centre in West Jerusalem. On arrival at the centre he was ordered to stand on one foot, whilst still tied and blindfolded. Every so often Omar would fall down or somebody would knock him down and he would hear laughter. Why are you laughing, I wont stand on one foot, said Omar. But somebody responded by hitting him on the head and telling him to shut up. He was then ordered to kneel down which he did for about three hours. After about three hours of kneeling, Omar was led into an interrogation room for questioning. His blindfold was removed but he remained tied. The interrogator wore civilian clothes. Omar was not permitted to see a lawyer prior to, or during his questioning, and contrary to Israeli civilian law, he was not accompanied by one of his parents. Why do you throw stones? asked the interrogator. Omar denied the accusation. Does anyone pay you to throw stones? continued the interrogator. When Omar continued to deny that he threw stones he reports that the interrogator slapped him. When Omar complained the interrogator verbally insulted him and pushed his head against a closet. Youre bullying me just because my hands are tied, said Omar. Shut the hell up, you animal, shouted the interrogator, who then slapped Omar, pulled his hair and punched him in his genitals causing him to cry. Omar continued to deny the accusations and finally the interrogator printed out some documents written in Hebrew and ordered him to sign them, but he refused. For further information see: DCI-Palestine - Voices from East Jerusalem: The situation facing Palestinian children and BTselem: Caution: Children Ahead The Illegal Behavior of the Police towards Minors in Silwan Suspected of Stone Throwing

Case summaries
Lawyers and fieldworkers for DCIPalestine collect sworn affidavits from Palestinian children in prison and upon their release. These affidavits are taken in Arabic and further reviewed by trained staff to determine appropriate follow up action. Each year, around 100 of these affidavits are translated into English from which these brief case summaries are produced. Additional case summaries are available upon request.

Media Archive:
The Independent Time BBC AlJazeera Haaretz Haaretz Haaretz Haaretz CNN Haaretz Haaretz Aljazeera BBC Aljazeera The Independent The Australian Haaretz The Guardian The Guardian The New York Times El Pais The Independent Irin

DCI submits a report to the UN Committee against Torture On 31 March 2012, DCI submitted a report to the UN Committee against Torture. The purpose of the report is to assist the Committee in its preparation of a List of Issues prior to the review of the State of Israels fifth Periodic Report under the Convention against Torture in 2013. All states that have ratified the Convention against Torture are reviewed by this independent UN Committee every four years to assess compliance. In its report to the Committee, DCI-Palestine continues to raise concerns about the treatment of children being held in Israels military detention system. These concerns include: The extensive use of night time raids to arrest children as young as 12 years; Persistent and credible reports of the systematic ill-treatment of children in violation of the Convention. In some cases the treatment may amount to torture; The questioning of children in the absence of a parent, any legal advice or visual recording of the interrogation; The continued detention of children in facilities inside Israel, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention; The lack of fair and impartial complaint mechanisms; and The discriminatory manner in which the law is applied to Palestinian children.

More

For information on Palestinian Child Prisoners read: Bound, Blindfolded and Convicted: Children held in military detention

The full report is available online.

Recent reports
BTselem: No Minor Matter No Legal Frontiers: All Guilty! Yesh Din: Alleged Investigation ACRI Minor A An Nabi Saleh UN Special Rapporteur

Recommendations
No child should be prosecuted in military courts which lack comprehensive fair trial and juvenile justice standards. DCI-Palestine recommends that as a minimum safeguard in the light of consistent reports of ill-treatment and torture, the following: 1. Ensure that no child is interrogated in the absence of a lawyer of their choice and family member; 2. 3. Ensure that all interrogations of children are audio-visually recorded; Ensure that all evidence suspected of being obtained through ill-treatment or torture be rejected by the military courts;

For more information and to subscribe to this bulletin, please visit www.dci-palestine.org

4. Ensure that all credible allegations of ill-treatment and torture be thoroughly and
impartially investigated and those found responsible for such abuse be brought to justice.

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DCI-Palestine Detention Bulletin, Issue 28 April 2012