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A boy was not updated in his interrogation due to a public defender, his confession was rejected and he was acquitted

A 15-year-old man from East Jerusalem was convicted of rioting and attempting to attack police officers in clashes, after admitting his interrogation. After 40 days in detention and a year in house arrest, it became clear that the same investigation was conducted without being told he was entitled to representation from the Public Defender's Office. The court acquitted him because of the doubt: "A failure that intensifies in view of his being a minor"

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• The Jerusalem District Court
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Maya Horodnitsano

The Jerusalem District Court rejected the confession of a boy accused of attempting to assault police officers, and acquitted him out of doubt. This is because the investigator will not inform the boy about his right to consult a lawyer on behalf of the Public Defender's Office. "We have no explanation, easy and plausible explanation, why the investigator stopped informing the appellant and his father about the right to be represented by a lawyer from the Public Defender's Office, even after it was completely clear from the above that they can not hire legal representation," the judges wrote in their decision last month. .

The 15-year-old boy from Shuafat was accused of throwing stones at security forces during clashes in the neighborhood in early 2018. He was arrested about ten days after the incident by checkpoint forces who said he had been identified from the clashes, and remained in custody for about 40 days and another year under house arrest. The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court convicted him of rioting and three counts of attempted assault on police officers in aggravated circumstances, and sentenced him to four months of community service and probation.

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His defense attorneys, Issa Muhammadia and Hila Sadeh, appealed to the district court against the verdict and sentence. On appeal they noted that the boy's first interrogation was done without a lawyer. Although the investigator told the boy's father that he was entitled to a lawyer, when he asked how this right would be exercised - the investigator decided to start an investigation.

During this interrogation the boy indicted himself, however after meeting with a lawyer he withdrew his confession. "Serious and disproportionate violations were caused to material rights that accrue to the appellant, both by virtue of his being a suspect and because of his age," his lawyers argued. They also referred to a forensic expert report comparing the picture of the boy arrested and the video from the incident, stating that "it cannot be ruled out" that it was the same person, and said that this was a reasonable doubt and should therefore be acquitted of the charges.

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Last month, the Jerusalem District Court granted the appeal. Referring to his interrogation without a lawyer, the judges noted that "the said omission is exacerbated in view of the fact that at the time of the interrogation the appellant was a 15-year-old minor.

In their decision, Justices Aharon Farkash, Oded Shaham and Avraham Rubin wrote that "in this case, the violation of the right is substantial." The judges also referred to the forensic report, noting that "the level of certainty arising from this conclusion is considerably lower than the minimum threshold required for a criminal conviction." Therefore, they ruled that "in this situation, there is no evidentiary basis to base appellant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. "Therefore, we accept the appeal and order the appellant's acquittal on the ground of doubt."