Muhammad Muhsen, high school student

I live with my family in Abu Dis and am currently a tenth grader studying at the Abu-Dis High School for Boys.

On Wednesday (May 9, 2007) around 00:30 at night my father woke me up. He told me to get up because Israeli soldiers were asking about me. I went with my father toward the living room. There were many border policemen and with them a dark-skinned officer of medium height. I know this officer, and I know he is called Eitan and that he is responsible for the Abu Dis area. He told me to get dressed and go with them, so I got dressed very quickly. Two soldiers held my arms and led me outside the house. They took me to the police car that was parked about 50 meters away from my house. It was a big car, and there were several Border Police cars in the area.

I got into the car and they sat me down on the ground. They hand-cuffed me and covered my eyes and then we started to move. After a short ride, I heard rocks being thrown at the police car. The policemen laid me down on the ground of the car and then stepped on my back and kicked me. I think that two soldiers beat me because I felt kicks from two directions. They beat me for almost 5 minutes and my back and stomach hurt.

After a few minutes, the police car stopped and they let me out. No one talked to me and I didn't know where I was. They took me into a room. I thought I was in a police station in Ma'ale Adumim because the car ride had been short. I sat in the room for an hour or an hour and a half. I managed to see a little through my blind-fold. I saw that I was sitting on a blue chair. A police officer came in a few times, aimed a light at my eyes and cursed at me. He also made fun of my mother who was crying when they took me to the police station.

Later, a policeman came, grabbed my handcuffs and led me up some stairs. I think we went up two flights of stairs. He took me into a room and moved my blindfold slightly. I was in an office. I think it was painted red and had two tables in it. On one table there was a computer. He made me stand facing the wall and then kicked me softly in the knee. After 5 minutes, he took me to another room where I stayed for almost ten minutes. I was then moved to yet another room, still with the blindfold on, but I managed to peek through the blindfold. Somebody was speaking in Arabic saying there are two ways to do an investigation: "I fuck your God, or you cooperate and tell me the truth without any trouble." I said "anything you want."

I sat down and he started interrogating me. During the interrogation he kicked my leg and it hurt me very much. He then kicked my other leg. During that time, someone also came in trying to convince me to confess my guilt.

Afterwards, the interrogator asked me to sign some papers. I said "What am I signing?" he said "You're going home." Through the blindfold I saw that he was wearing civilian clothes and glasses. He led me outside the office, stood behind me, and took off my blindfold – so I couldn't really see him. He then took me down the stairs to where I first came in. A police officer sat me on a chair and blindfolded me again. Then, after a few minutes, two policemen grabbed me and led me outside the room.

While walking, one of them cursed at me saying "You whore, I'm going to fuck you and your mother." I pushed him with my hands that were still in cuffs and I was then beaten by the two policemen. One beat me very hard in the head and the stomach. The other hit me in the back and the stomach. A little while later we arrived at the jeep. They put me into the jeep, sat me on the ground, and started driving. The ride took about half an hour. During the drive, one of the officers put his leg on my head. The jeep stopped and I had no idea where I was. I peeked and saw my watch; it was 4:40 am. I sat in the car with the policeman's foot on my head the whole time. I felt drowsy. Every time I fell asleep, the policeman would kick me and say "You animal, don't sleep!" or "You asshole, don't sleep!" He also put his shoes on my mouth. I stayed like that until 8 o'clock. At some point, the policeman fell asleep and then I too managed to rest.

Around 8:05AM, more policemen came to the jeep and talked to me. One of them said "What do you say we give you money and you cooperate?" they also said "We'll fix you up with some girls". The first policeman said "Ful, humus, ful – I love Mishmar Hagvul [Border Police]" over and over again and wanted me to repeat after him but I refused.

They beat me on the head with a stick and also put the stick in my mouth and turned it around. My stomach hurt very much and the pain continued to worsen. I told them that my stomach hurt so one of the officers lifted up my shirt and saw that my stomach was swollen and hard. After he saw that, he took me out of the jeep and into a room. He took off my handcuffs and untied my blindfold. I saw someone in uniform. I think it was a doctor. He asked me to lie down on the bed and then examined me. He then wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it over to one of the border policemen. The policeman was short and bald with dark skin. There was another border policeman there who was a Bedouin. I heard him first; he asked the policemen not to beat me. They took me to the jeep, tied my hands and blindfolded me again. This time they let me sit on a bench in the jeep and across from me sat a policeman. The jeep drove off.

After about half an hour, the jeep stopped. The policemen took off my handcuffs and the blindfold and took me into a hospital. At the entrance was a security guard sitting next to a table. I saw the entrance to the trauma unit.

I waited there for a few minutes with three policemen, and after they took my details they let me in. It was 9:10AM. They ran some tests and took some x-rays. I was in the trauma unit until 8:30PM. Afterwards, the policeman who accompanied me went out with me and took the medical report from the doctor who took care of me. We sat outside and waited for the ride. At 9:00PM the border police jeep came with a flashing red siren. In the jeep were three people.

The jeep drove off. One of the people, who was sitting in the front and wearing civilian clothes, told me that he would drive me home. We drove to Abu Dis and then he asked me to direct him to my house. When we arrived, he took me out of the jeep and escorted me to the house. He gave my father a summons to the police station in Ma'ale Adumim for the next day.

During this whole time I was not given anything to eat. During the interrogation I asked for water and they gave it to me only once. It wasn't until I arrived at the hospital that I drank.

My stomach hurt all night. The next day I went with my father to the police station in Ma'ale Adumim where we got a court summons for September 20, 2007. The policemen told my father to pay bail of 1000 NIS .

fterwards we went to the Al-Makassed hospital to check out my stomach. They didn't find anything and said it hurt me because of the fear and the beatings.

Mohammad Yasser Faiz Muhsen, 15, is a high school Student and a resident of Abu Dis in al-Quds district. His testimony given to Kareem Jubran in the witness' home on 14 May, 2007.