On motzei Shabbos 25 Adar-I, Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado filed an urgent complaint with the Public Complaints Unit of the Israeli Police about an interrogator at the Merchav David (Old City) Police Station, for abuse of a Jewish minor who had been assaulted by Arabs before he was detained.

On the preceding Friday night, as the minor and his brother were returning from tefilos Shabbos at the Kosel to their home in the Old City of Jerusalem, several Arabs began to taunt and curse them. At some point the Arabs assaulted the brothers and choked the minor for several minutes. Jewish passers-by who arrived on the scene rescued them and summoned policemen and medical personnel.

After the assaulted youths received first aid care at the scene, the policemen followed the recommendation of the medic who treated the youths and evacuated the older brother to the hospital for further medical treatment.

However, the younger brother, a 16-year old minor, who had been choked for approximately three minutes by the Arabs and suffered difficulty breathing, was detained on a claim that the incident was a fight between the Jewish brothers and the Arab assailants, a few of whom were also detained.

In his complaint filed with the Public Complaints Unit, Yado stated that the interrogator did not inform the minor of his right to consult with an attorney and also denied him his legal right as a minor to be interrogated in the presence of one of his parents, even though his father was at the police station.

Yado adds that the minor was suffering from shortness of breath due to the assault and choking and asked to be allowed to walk in fresh air in a open area in order to catch his breath. Despite his pleading and his father’s pleading the interrogator needlessly delayed fulfilling the request, and only after the father announced that he was calling a doctor, was the minor allowed to walk around in the open area of the police station and breathe fresh air.

The father added that while he sat waiting outside of the interrogation room for close to two hours, his son was interrogated by an interrogator who repeatedly screamed at him. Only after several hours of interrogation and giving testimony about the Arab assailants was the minor released to his home.

“There was no cause to interrogate my client so aggressively. My client and his brother were assaulted by Arabs. They did not assault,” wrote Yado in his complaint. Yado also demanded that the commander of the Merchav David Police Department conduct an investigation of the incident and that the interrogator be suspended immediately.

Recently Honenu Attorney Menashe Yado filed a complaint with the Public Complaints Unit about the same interrogator for abusing two Jewish girls who were interrogated by her and had their rights severely violated.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)