A 16-year-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank with an intellectual disability has been detained in Israel without trial for six months. His lawyer, Riham Nassra, says that he does not understand that he is in administrative detention, is unable to express himself and has faced ostracism and violence in custody due to his condition.

Administrative detention is arrest and detention in which no indictment is filed and the evidence against the suspect is not presented to their lawyer. It is usually based on classified intelligence, and the ostensible goal is to prevent future activity rather than as a punitive tool.

The teen’s condition was not mentioned in the transcripts of the hearings on his administrative detention order; his lawyers argued in their request that his situation was not brought to the attention of the court. In response, the military prosecution argued that his medical status was presented to the courts that discussed the approval of the order, as well as to the chief of the IDF Central Command when he issued the order.