Police illegally questioned two Palestinian minors late at night, even though there was no lawyer or adult family member present, their lawyer told the Kfar Sava Magistrate's Court this week.
The minors, both 16-year-olds from Qalqilyah, are suspected of being accessories to the theft of three bicycles and two helmets that were found three weeks ago in the possession of two adults from Qalqilyah. These men were carrying the identity cards of the teens, which led police and military personnel to raid the minors' homes in Qalqilyah at 2 A.M. Monday.
The minors were released on Tuesday on court order after paying NIS 500 each in bail.
That sum was reduced from the NIS 2,000 the court set Monday. The two spent Monday night in jail because they could not pay the sum.
"We in the Public Defender's Office place an emphasis on the matter of minors, and we are happy about the court's decision," said Rafat Nashef, one of the teens' two lawyers. "The police decided to go into the territories, arrest the two minors and endanger soldiers purely on the basis of unfounded information and 'evidence' that does not constitute evidence."
A police spokesman said that "if mistakes were indeed made in this case," police officers would learn their lesson for the future.
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