'Ajami' actors: We were abused by police

"Ajami" – the director's brothers' cut. Hours after being released from custody in suspicion of attacking a police officer, Tony Copti, the brother of "Ajami" director was still perplexed by his experience.

In a conversation Sunday with Ynet, Copti, one of the movie's actors, claimed he was verbally and physically abused while investigated in the police station and that he intends to file a complaint with the Police Internal Investigations Department. The police claimed in response that it used reasonable force during the arrest because the suspects were unruly and cursed heavily.

"This is the first time I am in this sort of situation," said Copti, while still having difficulty speaking, "it is an awful feeling – to be abused for no reason. They used harsh words against us – words that I cannot even repeat." Copti claims he does not know how he got into the confrontation that got him arrested.

"I remember seeing cops catching children, and so I naturally went down to see what was going on; then things got out of hand." Copti claimed he asked the police officer to settle the matter verbally and avoid physical confrontation, but the police attacked him and his brother.

"They started jumping on people; on me and my brother – and then I found myself handcuffed. For two hours I had no idea where I was. They sprayed me with pepper spray and my whole face was burning," Copti recalled.

Tony's brother, Jiries, who was also detained, claimed that the real abuse began at the police station: "We arrived to the station and I was taken down to the parking-lot. They sprayed me with pepper spray and started beating me.

It was surreal – things you don't even see in movies. Then they took me upstairs and put a siren near my ear. A few people then entered the room and hit me. My face was burning, and they continued to curse me," he added.

'You'll sit here till after the Oscars'

Tony Copti said that he was not surprised by the events that took place, as he has heard of similar instances in the past: "these incidents happened to people in Jaffa. In the movie you don't see the police jumping on innocent people, but it did happen in reality. We have no connection to the crime, and they knew it. Afterwards, they were joking around, saying 'you'll sit here 'till after the Oscars.'"

Despite their dramatic arrest, around 2 am the two were informed that they were free to go. Their release followed a meeting between the two's attorney, Giora Zilbershtein and the district commander, in which Zilbershtein asked to lower the heat on the two.

However, the Copti family will not forget their ordeal easily; "our family was hysterical – they saw us get arrested without doing anything wrong," said Tony.

Jiries added that they asked us to "let the whole thing go, but we will not keep silent. I told them I am an educated man, studying for my Master's degree and have never set foot in a police station; why did I deserve this?"

According to Jiries, he and his brother realized that something took place that night, and that senior officers interfered after realizing they were not treated properly, and therefore they were released. "Now I am at a doctor for a check-up. My health comes first. Later on we will think of what to do – but we will definitely not keep silent," he stressed.

Tel Aviv District Police said in response: "This was an unusual incident of an assault on officers that arrived to a scene of a crime and were attacked by dozens of local residents who beat them and cursed them. Reasonable force was employed in order to keep the order and arrest suspects.

"Even when the suspects were put in the police vehicle, they continued to resist and curse, while one even said he will 'burn the Jews like the Nazis burned them one-by-one,'" the police said.