About a week before A., who was a minor when he was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Duma affair, decided to voluntarily go to jail - he contacted his friends on Facebook with a request.
A. was questioned under "special means" as part of the investigation of the Duma case, and the court disqualified his confessions in the case. He decided today (Monday) of his own accord to go to jail and end the remaining 10 months under the sentence.
About a week ago, he wrote on his Facebook account: "Does anyone have up-to-date psychometric books to hand over or sell?"
One of the friends answered him and recommended an online psychometric course, but A. replied: "Thank you, but I need books. I have no internet access."
This morning, upon entering Ayalon Prison, the minor made a statement to the media "I was severely tortured, harmed mentally and physically, post-trauma was caused to remain with me. After legal proceedings we were able to disqualify the confessions and the court accepted our position that there was torture."
He said, "The General Security Service and the State Attorney's Office continued to try to harm me in every way, even after a two-year rehabilitation process, after a year in pre-military preparatory school and probation service groups, and serious rehabilitation, I changed, the GSS and the State Attorney's Office continued with the persecution. And despite the court's desire that it end in service work, they insisted on imprisonment."
A. explained why he chose to report and start serving his sentence even now before the appeal process ended: "I decided that after five years of torture, the abuse was enough for me, and I have no strength for it anymore, and I want to end it; I want to return to a normal life, I'm going into prison voluntarily, despite an appeal currently being heard in the Supreme Court. I hope the Supreme Court will accept the appeal and see how I went and shorten the sentence or commute to service work. I hope everyone involved in the case will see the suffering and torture we went through, I and other people, and that the truth and justice will come to light."
The District Court sentenced A. to 3.5 years in prison, of which he served about two-and-a-half years while detained until the end of the proceedings at the beginning of the trial. Now A. is left to serve about 10 months in prison. In the coming months, the Supreme Court is expected to hear an appeal filed by A. against the conviction regarding membership in a terror organization, as well as against the severity of the sentence.