Israel blocks sexual charges on a soldier

A complaint by a 14-year-old Palestinian boy that he was beaten by Israeli soldiers then physically and sexually assaulted by an interrogator is being blocked by Israel, rights groups charged on Thursday.

The accusation is laid out in a letter sent to the military, the police and the attorney general by Defense For Children International (DCI) and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI).

The boy, known as 'A', filed a complaint in August in which he alleged ill-treatment by the Israeli soldiers who arrested him, and physical and sexual assault during his interrogation at Etzion police station in the southern West Bank.

The complaint relates to an incident in May, when he was arrested for alleged stone throwing.

According to a sworn affidavit, 'A' was bound, blindfolded, hit with a rifle, then repeatedly kicked and abused in a bid to coerce him into confessing to something he says he did not do.

During the ordeal, an interrogator brought a set of jump leads and attached one crocodile clip to the metal handcuffs he was wearing and another clip to his genitals and threatened to electrocute him.

Speaking to AFP, 'A' said the pain in his genitals caused by the crocodile clip was "indescribable" and he immediately 'confessed'. He was eventually released but has never been charged.

Evidence suggests the interrogator was a policeman.

After a complaint was filed on August 15, a military police officer called DCI and asked 'A' to come to Etzion interrogation centre, where the alleged assault occurred, to discuss the complaint.

But he was told to come alone. If he insisted on bringing a lawyer, the case would be "terminated," the officer told DCI.

In their letter to the Judge Advocate General, DCI and PCATI insist on the child's right to have a lawyer present during the investigation into the incident, saying the demand that he come alone, without giving a reasonable explanation, was effectively blocking the complaint.

"The military police investigator’s demand that the minor withdraw the complaint solely because he demands his rights as a victim of a violent crime and a sexual offence is a violation of your duty to investigate," the letter reads.

"Under Israeli law, the victim of a violent crime, which includes sex crime, is entitled to have a lawyer present unless there is reasonable grounds to believe this will harm the investigation," said DCI lawyer Iyad Misk.

"Until now, they have failed to provide a reasonable explanation as to why the child cannot have a lawyer present, and have instead threatened to archive the complaint," said DCI lawyer Iyad Misk.

"What the interrogator did is, without doubt, sexual assault which is illegal under Israeli penal law, and it is also sexual harassment," Bana Shoughry-Badarne, legal director at PCATI told AFP.

"If he is found guilty, the interrogator could face up to seven years in jail," she said.

In a written response to AFP, the army said it was still considering whether to press charges over stone throwing. "Currently, the case is under the investigation of the Military Advocate General," a statement said.

It did not say whether his allegations were being investigated, but added: "It should be noted that there were no claims made of abuse at any point during his questioning."

A spokesman later clarified that interrogations are handled by Israel police and sometimes the Shin Bet intelligence service.

Israel police had no immediate comment on the allegations by 'A'.

The military police investigator’s demand that the minor withdraw the complaint solely because he demands his rights as a victim of a violent crime and a sexual offence is a violation of your duty to investigate

A letter sent to the military

Israeli police, Palestinians clash in Jerusalem

Stone-throwing youths clashed with Israeli police in an Arab area of east Jerusalem on Thursday, an AFP journalist said, a day after violence was sparked when a Jewish settlement guard shot dead a Palestinian.

Police fired tear gas grenades and water cannon to disperse groups of youths hurling stones and burning tyres in the Issawiya district of the holy city.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.

Wednesday's fighting erupted when Arab residents of the Silwan neighbourhood stoned a security guard in his vehicle and he opened fire, police said.

Witnesses said another two Palestinians were wounded in the shooting, and several were injured later as police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters in and around Silwan.

The violence came as negotiators sought to reach a compromise on the impending end of a partial settlement moratorium that threatens to torpedo Israeli-Palestinian peace talks relaunched earlier this month.