Minor’s right to privacy violated

Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 9:55 On Tuesday, June 6, Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado filed a complaint with the Public Complaints Unit of the Jerusalem Police on behalf of a minor detained on suspicion of intending to offer a Passover sacrifice in Jerusalem. During his detention he was not allowed privacy while using the toilet at the Kishleh Police Station.
The complaint states that the minor was illegally detained in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City on the eve of the Passover holiday while carrying a carton. As he was walking, suddenly several policemen approached him and demanded that he open the carton, probably due to a suspicion that he was carrying a lamb for the Passover sacrifice.
The minor did not object to the demand by the police to open the carton. However he asked to first see their police IDs. The policemen refused to present identification as required by law and detained the minor until a more senior officer arrived. When the officer arrived the police demanded again that the minor open the carton. The minor repeated that he did not object to opening the carton and was only insisting on his right to see the policemen’s identification.
In response to his demand the policemen informed the minor that he was being detained and must accompany them to the police station. When the minor wanted to know the grounds for his detention, which he is required by law to be told, the policemen refused to explain the reason to him.
At the police station the policemen continued to trample the minor’s rights. He was detained for many hours at the station and when he asked to use the toilet he was told that he must leave the door open, even though he posed no perceptible danger to the policemen.
Honenu Attorney Menasheh Yado, who filed the complaint: “The detention was carried out illegally. This complaint has far-reaching significance in light of the serious privacy rights violations which occur frequently in the Kishleh Police Station. Our office receives many complaints from detainees who were not allowed to close the door while using the toilet at the Kishleh Police Station. In all of the cases referred to us we did not find reasonable cause for such an extreme violation of the detainees’ privacy. We did not find any legal basis justifying this conduct. I hope that the complaint filed today will bring a stop to this unacceptable practice.”
On the eve of the 2017 Passover holiday many youth were detained on suspicion of intending to ascend the Temple Mount and offer a Passover sacrifice. In many of the cases flagrant violations of their fundamental rights as detainees were reported.