Quaker school student held without charge
'Shadi was taken barefoot and blindfold after being interrogated and had not received medical care for the injuries sustained during his arrest.'
A student at a Quaker school in Palestine has been held without charge by Israeli military.
Sixteen-year-old Shadi Khoury from Ramallah Friends School has been arrested and held without charge by the Israeli military since 18 October, when he was beaten and dragged from his family home in Jerusalem.
Grandmother Samia Khoury, founder of Sabeel, a Jerusalem-based Christian institute, said that Shadi was taken barefoot and blindfold after being interrogated and had not received medical care for the injuries sustained during his arrest, with marks on his neck, body, arms and face.
Paul Parker, recording clerk of BYM, said: ‘As a child, Shadi should be at home with his family, instead of being locked up, terrified, in military detention. We call on the UK government to urge the Israeli state to respect the human rights of all, and to allow Shadi to return home.
‘Unfortunately, this is not an unusual case, there is a documented history of the Israeli military violating the human rights of detained Palestinian children.’
Students at the Ramallah Friends School have held a vigil for their friend, appealing for his release.
Writing on its Facebook page, the school said: ‘Our students and community are in pain. We love and miss Shadi very much. We feel helpless that we, as a community, cannot even offer our children the simplest of protections. Shadi should be preparing for his IB [International Baccalaureate] diploma and should not be in a prison cell being interrogated by soldiers.’
At least thirty-seven Palestinian children have been killed in the occupied Palestinian territory so far this year, with 175 in Israeli detention, according to the UN.
UNICEF has been raising concerns about the rights of children in military detention with the Israeli authorities since 2013. Save the Children found that children in the Israeli military detention system face inhumane treatment: of 470 children interviewed, eight in ten were beaten.
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.