Arbitrarily detained minor unconditionally released

Wednesday, July 13, 2016, 12:42 The Jewish minor detained on Tuesday, July 12 on suspicion of not obeying a police detective officer who ordered him not to walk on HaGai Street and to return to the Western Wall, was unconditionally released the same night following an appeal filed by Attorney Nati Rom, who is handling the case on behalf of Honenu. See a video clip of the detention here. Video credit: “Hozrim LaHar”
The minor was walking on HaGai Street in the Old City of Jerusalem when police detectives approached him, requested his ID card, informed him that he was forbidden to walk on that street and that he must return to the Western Wall. A police detective officer who arrived on the scene several minutes later accompanied by other police detectives added that the minor was walking a “spontaneous ‘Circling the Gates’” and forbade him to enter the passageways leading to the Temple Mount gates on his return to the Western Wall. When the minor, who was given no justification for the order not to walk on HaGai Street, refused to return to the Western Wall, he was detained and taken to the Merchav David (Old City) Police Station.
After an interrogation at the Merchav David Police Station the police wanted to release the minor on condition of his not entering the Temple Mount and its passageways until the following day, but he refused on the grounds that his detention was not legal. The police interrogators then informed him that he would remain in remand all night and be brought before a judge in the morning. Attorney Nat Rom filed an urgent appeal and Jerusalem Magistrate Court Judge Keren Miller ordered the police to respond by 17:30 the same day.
The police responded that the release condition was necessary due to a concern for disturbing public order in the area of the Temple Mount, however following the appeal the police said that they were willing to unconditionally release the minor at 22:00, when the concern for disturbing public order would be lessened. In light of the offer of unconditional release at 22:00 Judge Miller rejected the appeal filed by Honenu.
The minor was released at approximately half an hour after midnight, two and a half hours after the police stated they would release him, and therefore Honenu is considering filing suit for false detention. The “Hozrim LaHar” (Returning to the [Temple] Mount) organization, of which the minor is a member, publicized a video clip documenting the detention.
Attorney Nati Rom: “Unfortunately we are once again witnesses to scandalous conduct by the Israeli Police, this time the false detention of a youth who was innocently strolling down the alleys of the Old City [of Jerusalem] with his bicycle and detained by a large number of policemen only because he did not agree to return to the Western Wall and instead wanted to stroll in the Old City. It is intolerable that the Israeli Police detains for no reason youths who come to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. We are pleased that following the appeal the youth did not spend the entire night in remand.”