Amnesty International called on Israeli authorities to release the 16-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi who could face up to 10 years in prison over an altercation with Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank last month.
Ahed Tamimi will go before Ofer military court in the occupied West Bank accused of aggravated assault and 11 other charges after a video showing her shoving slapping and kicking two Israeli soldiers in her home village of Nabi Saleh on 15 December went viral on Facebook.
“Nothing that Ahed Tamimi has done can justify the continuing detention of a 16-year-old girl. The Israeli authorities must release her without delay. In capturing an unarmed teenage girl’s assault on two armed soldiers wearing protective gear the footage of this incident shows that she posed no actual threat and that her punishment is blatantly disproportionate” said Magdalena Mughrabi Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Ahed Tamimi’s ensuing arrest and military trial exposes the Israeli authorities’ discriminatory treatment of Palestinian children who dare to stand up to ongoing often brutal repression by occupying forces.”
Ahed Tamimi was arrested on 19 December along with her mother Nariman Tamimi and cousin Nour Tamimi after Nariman also a prominent activist posted the footage online. Ahed confronted the soldiers amid a demonstration in Nabi Saleh against US President Donald Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
On 1 January Ahed and Nariman were both charged with aggravated assault of soldiers and preventing soldiers from carrying out their duties.
Ahed now faces a total of 12 charges also including incitement on social media and offences related to five other altercations with Israeli soldiers she is alleged to have taken part in over the past two years.
Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Israel is a state party the arrest detention or imprisonment of a child must be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
“Israel is clearly brazenly flouting its obligations under international law to protect children from overly harsh criminal punishments” said Magdalena Mughrabi.
“It would be an unconscionable travesty of justice if Ahed Tamini’s act of defiance in the face of relentless oppression earns her a long prison sentence after a trial in a military court that does not ensure basic fair trial standards.”
According to Defense for Children Palestine (DCI) approximately 500-700 Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank are prosecuted every year through Israeli juvenile military courts under Israeli military orders.
