Amnesty calls for release of 16-year-old Palestinian activist ahead of court appearance

Amnesty International has called on Israeli authorities to release 16-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, who will appear in court today over an altercation with Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank last month.

Ms Tamimi will appear before Ofer military court 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 circulated on Facebook.

The incident took place during a demonstration against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, on the same day that Israeli soldiers shot Ms Tamimi’s 15-year-old cousin Mohammad at close range with a rubber bullet.

Ms Tamimi and her mother, who uploaded the video, were arrested by Israeli soldiers in a night raid four days after the incident.

Her lawyer says she has faced several long and aggressive interrogation sessions, sometimes during the night, and has received threats against her family by interrogators. According to her family, she has also endured several physically-exhausting transfers from prison to court alongside other child detainees, without access to a toilet.

Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director, said: “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.

“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.

“Israel is clearly, brazenly flouting its obligations under international law to protect children from overly harsh criminal punishments.”