Youngest Freed Palestinian Prisoner Fears Re-arrest by Israeli Occupation Forces
Halhul, Hebron, 19 Rajab 1437/27 April 2016 (MINA) – Palestinian girl Dima al-Wawi, 12, is living in a state of fear and shock after she was released from an Israeli jail on Sunday.
The minor spent 75 days in jail after being charged with attempting to stab an Israeli soldier, the Anadolu Agency reported.
While staying with her family at her house in the West Bank city of Halhul, near Hebron, Dima said she is “afraid” to speak to the media.
“I know nothing. I do not know how many days I spent in the cell. I do not remember what did they ask me… I am afraid of them.”
“The interrogator screamed at me asking: are you Fatah or Hamas? I did not answer. Other interrogators came and repeated the same question. At last, I was obliged to say that I am Hamas.”
About her detention, she said: “The security guard at the settlement stopped me, he had a gun and told me to lie on the ground and tied my hands with plastic handcuffs. He stood on my back and said he would shoot me.”
The Israeli occupation arrested Dima near her school on 9 February accusing her of having a knife. She was sentenced to four and a half months but was released on bail after two and a half months.
“I am scared of being re-arrested,” she said. “When I was in prison, I thought about my parents, brothers and sisters and school.”
“I am eager to go back to school. The Israeli soldiers threatened me regarding returning to school.”
Her father Ismail Al-Wawi, 54, described her detention as a “shameful stigma” on Israel.
“Israel claims it is the protector of democracy and at the same time threatened her and obtained confessions from her under threats of weapons and without the presence of lawyers or any family member,” he said, “this state practices apartheid and oppression.”
“I feel sorry for the Palestinian children who were arrested and are now in Israeli prisons. All human rights associations should help these children,” he concluded. (T/R07/R01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
