Parents of detained minors hold press conference

Monday, January 7, 2019, 18:47 On the evening of Monday, January 7, the parents of the minors detained by the GSS, some of whom have not met with an attorney, held a press conference at the ZOA House in Tel Aviv at which they demanded that the harsh interrogations and torture of their sons be stopped.
In related news, prior to the press conference, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked met with the parents and listened to their concerns. The families thanked her for the meeting and her attention to the matter.
At the press conference, the mother of Y., who was detained on Saturday night and has not yet met with an attorney said, “They really kidnapped him from his home. I begged them to let me tell him ‘Shalom’ and give him a kiss, and they wouldn’t let me. They didn’t allow him to take socks, or his tefilin.
“I don’t know what they will do to him in the Shabak dungeons. Today they called and asked for permission to give him medicine. I don’t know what they did to him. I don’t know what happened to him. They took him from home, happy and healthy and now he needs medicine. I don’t know what they did to him. Don’t tell me anything about there not being torture. I call on the Prime Minister to stop this. He is in charge of the Shabak.”
The mother of D., who was also detained on Saturday night and has not met with an attorney, added, “Our son is being prevented from meeting with an attorney. Yesterday (Sunday) we heard from the judge at the deliberation that he complained that they [the interrogators] are abusing him, touching him, spitting in his face. I don’t know what else they are doing to him. The situation doesn’t make sense. My son is only fifteen and a half years old, a young soul. Prime Minister, I don’t know how one can trust this investigation. I ask that the rights of these youths be maintained. Netanyahu, stop this madness!
D.’s father stated, “I turn to you, Prime Minister, you whose wife is an educational psychologist, you who are in charge of the Shabak. You know what they are doing to our children. We insist that you stop the torture, and stop this ugly and unacceptable method of interrogation.”
Y.’s father added, “There is no Jewish terror. I served in the reserves until the age of 47 and I have 11 children. I have a son in an IDF combat unit. We believe in the State and we are happy to be in the State that G-d gave us. I told my son yesterday to continue serving in our State. The Prime Minister is responsible for this and he must get rid of the concept of Jewish terror.”
Honenu Attorney Chai Haber, who is representing the detainees in the case, concluded: “The court has already said its piece about similar interrogations in other cases. The Shabak is trying to besmirch and entire public with spins. Even if one of the youths were involved with anything it would not be possible to besmirch an entire public. We are furious over the prohibition to meet an attorney. The youths emphatically deny the act that has been attributed to them. Unrestrained and unjust pressure is being used here.”
Menachem Ben Shahar, the father of a yeshiva student who has not been detained, stated that, “These are youth of good character. The yeshiva is wonderful and the principal is a battalion commander in the reserves. We are astounded by the scandalous method that the Shabak is using to slander the yeshiva. It seems to have been done out of frustration, which indicates that they don’t have anything [to back their claims].