Violent detention in Tzfat

Thursday, October 31, 2019, 18:46 On the evening of Thursday, October 31, the Tzfat Police released on bail, with no restrictive conditions, the minor and the adult detained that morning in Tzfat. The two were detained on suspicion of a connection to an incident which had occurred the previous night in the predominantly Arab Kafr Akbara neighborhood in Tzfat. The minor is one of many children in a hareidi family.
At approximately 6:00 Thursday morning, the policemen broke into the family’s home, without presenting a legal warrant and without identifying themselves as policemen, apparently in violation of the law. The policemen searched the home, detained a 17-year old minor and assaulted his father, who was punched and knocked to the floor in full view of his wife and children. An adult was also detained. Initially the police refused to allow the parents of the minor to be present during their child’s interrogation, in violation of the Youth Law. The policemen searched the contents of the minor’s cell phone, examining the call log and the text messages.
After the investigation, the policemen realized that the detainees did not have any connection to the incident in Kafr Akbara and released them. At the release the policemen apologized to the minor’s father for the detention.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who represented the minor, stated: “This was a false detention stemming only from the appearance of the family and their belonging to a particular sector. This is a serious matter which must be examined.
“The police did well in the end to release the detainees. Nonetheless it is not enough to repair the damage of the detention and of the manner in which the rights of the minor and his family were trampled.”