Brutal arrests? (archive photo)
Photo: Tzafrir Aviyov
A 16-year-old girl arrested for blocking traffic on a Tel Aviv-area highway last month says police beat her so badly they broke her arm and refused to allow her to see a doctor.
Who are they?
By Tova Tzimuki
Dozens of minors, arrested for blocking roads last week to protest pullout plan, are refusing to identify themselves to police
She says that after she was arrested and detained for questioning, the officers started to beat her, and one twisted her left arm behind her back, breaking it.
"I will be pressing civil charges against the police in the coming days," she says.
'You are not human beings'
The incident stemmed from a right-wing protest in late May in which several teenagers were arrested The girl, who will remain anonymous, was arrested near the Ranana junction and taken to the police station in nearby Kfar Saba.
"They put about 30 of us in one room, guys and girls together. There was no air to breath. We asked to open a window or door, but they yelled at us, saying, 'you are not human beings, you are nothing.'
"We started making noise to protest, and the cops thought I was the ringleader. They took me out of the room, brought me into the hallway, and two officers started to beat me. One of them twisted my arm behind my back," she told Ynet.
No doctors in jail
The girl says her arm started to swell, and she asked to see a doctor about 11:00 PM. She was told the station had no doctor, but she would see one when she was transferred to Maasiyahu Prison the next day.
"In the meanwhile, my arm was in terrible pain, and swelled up even more. They wouldn't even give me ice for it, "she says.
At Maasiyahu the next day, she refused to identify herself to the doctor, who in turn refused to treat her.
Several days later, when the girl's remand was extended, a judge ordered the police provide medical attention even if the girl refused to cooperate.
"After three days they took an x-ray and put some sort of bandage on it," she recalls. That Thursday, after four days in detention, she was released from detention but forbidden from leaving the settlement where she lives.
"I went straight to the doctor," she says, "and he took more x-rays and told me the arm was broken."
Police: can't investigate without name
Police spokeswoman Fanny Metz-Hillel responded to the charges of police brutality, saying any complaints should be directed to the department's internal investigations division.
"These girls blocked traffic, resisted arrest, attacked officers, refused to identify themselves and did everything they could to disrupt both our work and the investigations," she said.
"While they were at the police station, they were held in the officers rec room and provided with food and drink. Despite this, they damaged police property and scrawled graffiti on the walls. When they were taken to court they attacked one of our officers.
"In order for us to investigate, she's got to tell us her full name, something she refused to do while in custody," said Metz-Hillel