Quaker school student released under house arrest
‘Although it is conditional on house arrest… the most important thing is he will be with us at home… and we will celebrate Christmas.'
A student at a Quaker school in Palestine who was held without charge has been released after forty days in prison.
Sixteen-year-old Shadi Khoury from Ramallah Friends School is under house arrest after being arrested and taken from his home by the Israeli military on 18 October.
Grandmother Samia Khoury, founder of Sabeel, a Jerusalem-based Christian institute, said that Shadi was taken barefoot and blindfolded after being interrogated. She said he sustained injuries with marks on his neck, body, arms and face.
His family told supporters that ‘although it is conditional on house arrest, restrictions and bails etc, and the case and court procedures will continue… the most important thing is he will be with us at home… with Aboud (his dog)… he will watch the World Cup… and we will celebrate Christmas together’.
As well as Amnesty International, Quakers have been campaigning for the schoolboy’s release, including Kirsten Hills, from Florence Meeting.
The video journalist made a film about the situation (https://bit.ly/ShadiQuakerFilm) saying that Shadi had been interrogated at least three times on his own. According to the No Way to Treat a Child campaign, ‘an estimated 13,000 Palestinian children between the ages of 12 and 17 have been detained, prosecuted and incarcerated by the Israeli army’.
Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, said: ‘Unfortunately, this is not an unusual case.’ He called on the UK government to urge the Israeli state to respect the human rights of all and to release Shadi.
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