The influence of Hammad, the youngest Palestinian prisoner… from arrest and abuse to prison sentences
The day before yesterday (Sunday), the Israeli District Court in Jerusalem sentenced the youngest Palestinian prisoner in Israeli prisons, Nafoth Hammad, to 12 years in prison.
The Prisoner’s Club said in a statement carried by Palestinian media, “The occupation court sentenced the child prisoner, Nofat Hammad, to 12 years in prison, compensation worth 50,000 shekels (about 13,000 dollars), and a suspended imprisonment for 3 years.”
Who is Nofat Hammad?
Nawath, a 16-year-old student from the city of Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The Prisoners’ Club indicated that she is currently detained in “Damoun” prison. She was arrested on December 8, 2021, when she was 14 years old from inside her school (Al-Rawdah Al-Hadithah) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
According to the Wadi Hilweh Human Rights Information Center in Jerusalem, the Israeli Public Prosecution charged the girl with “attempting to kill a female settler and causing her minor injury” following a stabbing attack.
The family is in the process of filing an appeal
In a statement to Palestinian media, the father of the prisoner, Jad Hammad, said that the family did not expect the court’s decision to imprison his daughter for 12 years, saying that “the decision came as revenge against our people in light of the circumstances they are currently going through.”
He pointed out that Nafoth, who has been detained since 2021, is now 16 years old, and when she is released from prison, she will be 26 years old, explaining that the family is in the process of filing an appeal against the ruling within a period of 45 days.
He said: “When Nofoth was arrested, she was in the ninth grade. She was a diligent and social girl who loved children, and she used to participate in the role of the clown during school activities.”
He explained that the last time the family met Nofoth was about 40 days ago in Damoun Prison, noting that he saw his daughter Nofoth in the last court session via Zoom, because he refused to bring her to the session to avoid being assaulted while being transported by “Al-Bosta.”
He said that the morale of the influential prisoner is high, but she complains about the poor conditions of detention in the prison after the intensification of the abuse of male and female prisoners, and that after the outbreak of the war in Gaza, male and female prisoners were subjected to attacks and abuse, “including my daughter.”
He expressed his hope that all male and female prisoners, including his daughter Nofoth, in addition to those detained in the Gaza Strip, would be released soon, and that an agreement would be reached between all parties in this regard.
Hammad’s influence suffered abuse in Israeli prisons (X)
A bitter reality in captivity
Nafoud suffered a lot in Israeli prisons, and lived a very bitter reality in captivity.
Last year, Nofoth narrated to the lawyer of the Palestinian Authority for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs, Hanan Al-Khatib, the details of her arrest and the abuse, brutal assault, and humiliating treatment she was subjected to, while she was taken from her school and interrogated inside the Israeli investigation cellars.
According to a statement issued by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, she said that on December 8, 2021, around nine in the morning, “I was at school and we were in the first period, and Israeli forces entered the school (Al-Rawdah Al-Hadithah Girls’ Secondary School) and began searching the students.”
She added: “When my turn for inspection arrived, they asked me and my friend Israa Ghait’s names. They sat us down, then took me aside. Then I asked for a female teacher to accompany me, but they refused. I also asked for my sister, who is one year older than me, to accompany me, and they also refused. After that, they took me next to the director’s office, tied my hands behind my back with iron handcuffs, and about 5 soldiers surrounded me, while they asked me questions, shouted at me, and insulted me with very obscene words.”
Nofoth noted, “They then brought me into one of the school rooms with two female soldiers who searched me. Then they confiscated my phone, handcuffed me to the back, blindfolded me, and took me down the school stairs. Then I asked again to accompany my sister or my teacher, but they refused and shouted at me again and ordered me to be silent. Later, they took me and threw me into a regular car, and I was surrounded by occupation soldiers from all sides while my hands were tied behind my back and my eyes were blindfolded.”
Nafoth continued: “I was later taken to the Al-Maskobiyya interrogation center, and I was interrogated by 6 or 7 investigators, one of whom was screaming at me and insulting me with obscenities. Another investigator hit me in the face violently, and the force of the punch hit my head against the wall. He also kicked me in the side and pulled my hair. He did not stop screaming at me and threatening to detain me in the cell for a long time and deprive me of seeing my family. After that, they transferred me to another cell, where another interrogator threw a chair at me and threatened to demolish my house and arrest my parents.”
Nafoth explained in her testimony: “They then transferred me to the Al-Ma’bar section in Hasharon Prison, me and my friend Israa, but they prevented us from speaking. It was approximately 12:30 am. At approximately 2:30 in the morning, they woke us up and took us to the Al-Mascobiyya interrogation center again. We remained like this for about 10 consecutive days. We only slept for two hours, in addition to the harsh transportation conditions in the so-called bosta car, as its chairs were iron and very cold.”
Nofoth stated, “The conditions of the cells at the Sharon crossing are very difficult. The window is large and always open. We asked the jailers to close it several times, but they refused. For the first two days, they did not bring us food. One time, we asked for water and they brought us ice, and they were very delaying in bringing us meals. In addition, the blanket provided by the prison administration is a light sheet, while the mattress is leather, and there is no pillow. And it smells bad. “The cell is very dirty, and there are cockroaches and (other) insects on its walls.”
Nofoth added, “There was no hot water available for the first two days.” After about 5 days, my family was able to bring me clothes, but the jailers deliberately kept the items for several more days before bringing them to us. We slept and woke up in the same clothes, and I was in my school uniform. After about 6 days, we were able to change our clothes.”
According to Nofoth, “my friend Israa was released on financial bail after about two weeks, and I remained alone in the room for a day. Then, they brought the captive Ubaida Al-Haroub. Then I asked the jailers to bring me shampoo and a toothbrush, and a jailer called Nimah came in and started hitting me and screaming at me. I told her that I did not understand Hebrew, and she beat me. I asked her why she hit me, since I only asked for shampoo and a toothbrush, but she continued hitting without stopping. There were other jailers who started shouting at me and cursing me with obscene words.”
Nodo continued to narrate what happened, saying: “Then they tied me up and transferred me to a solitary confinement cell, where I remained for 4 hours. Later, they took me to another cell close to the criminal prisoner section, before interrogating me again because of the problem that occurred between me and the female guard. After staying for several days in Hasron Prison, I was transferred to the female prisoners’ section in Damon Prison, where I remain now.”
According to data from the Palestinian News Agency (Wafa), the number of prisoners in Israeli prisons by the end of October reached about 7 thousand prisoners, including 62 female prisoners, while accurate numbers are not available for child detainees, and the number of administrative detainees (detainees without charge) was (2070), and the number of detainees from Gaza who were classified by the occupation as illegal combatants reached 105.
The number of prisoners in Israeli prisons under detention reached about 5,200, including 36 female prisoners and about 170 children, while the number of administrative detainees reached 1,264, including more than 20 children, and 4 female prisoners: Raghad Al-Fanni, Samah Awad, Hanan Al-Barghouti, and Fatima Abu. waterfall.
Since the beginning of 2023, Israeli forces have arrested more than 5,000 Palestinians, including 83 women and 678 children.
#mass #grave #bodies #AlShifa #Hospital #Gaza
2023-11-14 14:07:41
