Around 2:30 a.m. on November 5, 2017, Israeli forces arrested Ahmad A., 14, from his home in the occupied West Bank village of Beit Ummar, located near Hebron.

Israeli soldiers bound Ahmad’s hands from the front with three plastic cords, forced him to walk with them to the town center, and then blindfolded him.

Israeli forces transferred Ahmad to the Israeli settlement of Karmei Tzur, north of Hebron, where he stayed for a few hours, and then to Etzion interrogation and detention center. When he reached Etzion, he sat in the outside yard for about two hours bound and blindfolded.

Ahmad was interrogated by three different interrogators. All three accused him of throwing stones.

He did not confess and maintained his innocence despite physical assaults, shouting and intimidation that took place during the interrogations.

Ahmad received legal counsel over the phone prior to the third interrogation. Interrogators provided him with a pile of papers to sign, but he only signed the one paper in Arabic. He refused to sign the others in Hebrew—a language he doesn’t understand.

Ahmad was then transferred to Israel’s Ofer military prison, near Ramallah, where he stayed until his release. Defense for Children International – Palestine’s attorney represented him in military court and secured his release on November 15, 2017, on NIS 1,200 ($341) bail.

“I was thinking about my family, friends and school. I was very happy when I was released,” Ahmad told DCIP.