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DCI/Palestine says about 700 Palestinian children are prosecuted annually in Israeli military tribunals affording them no rights. Conviction rates are 99%. Those charged are guilty by accusation.
Children like 12-year old Bashar M. was arrested pre-dawn. His hands were painfully bound behind his back. He was blindfolded, placed on a military vehicle floor, verbally abused, slapped on the face, kept blindfolded at Al Mascobiyya interrogation center, strip-searched on arrival, struck again, denied bail or legal representation, traumatized, and told either confess (to stone throwing) or be imprisoned for a very long time.
Other children report similar or worse treatment including pre-trial isolation, torture, and other forms of abuse.
Physicians for Human Rights/Israel (PHR/I) contributor Dr. Graciela Carmon discussed "Coerced False Confessions: The Case of Palestinian Children."
Addressing psychological and social factors affecting them in custody, she posed three main questions:
(1) What affect do abusive interrogations have "on the behavior and mental state" of children and adolescents?
(2) What emotional and social consequences affect them and their families?
(3) What psychological, developmental and social factors increase their vulnerability to give coerced false confessions?
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