Court severely reprimanded police and unconditionally released Shevut Ami detainees

Wednesday, May 11 17:54 During the afternoon hours a deliberation took place at the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court on the three minors arrested yesterday at the Shevut Ami outpost in the Shomron, on suspicion of being in a closed military zone. The police requested that the court place a restraining order on the three, barring them from the area of the outpost for a month and to impose a monetary deposit on them.
Honenu attorney Yossi Lin, who represented the three, pleaded in the deliberation that the police did not take the trouble to inform the parents of the minors of their arrest, which is illegal. According to the law, police investigators are obligated to immediately inform parents of minors arrested of their arrest and to allow them to come to the investigation. For only one of the youths, whose father was contacted by the police investigators after the investigation, did the Ariel police investigators take the trouble to inform the parents of the detainees.
In the end, parents of two of the detainees arrived at the deliberation, however the parents of the third were not even aware of the deliberation.
A representative of the police admitted that no attempt was made to locate the parents, but continued to demand that the court place a restraining order on the three, and to impose on them a monetary deposit .
Judge Oshrit Rothkopf severely reprimanded the police, “I regard with great severity the conduct of the police, when minors are arrested and investigated without notifying the parents and moreover the parents of one of them were not even aware of the deliberation today,” wrote the judge in her decision. Judge Rothkopf released two of the detainees unconditionally, but on bond signed by their parents and the third minor was released unconditionally and without bond.
Honenu attorney Yossi Lin, who represented the detainees, stated after the deliberation that, “The police systematically violate the law and harm the rights of suspects. The court severely reprimanded the police concerning this, and I hope that the police will know in the future to protect the rights of suspects, even when they are settlers.”