A number of Ethiopians arrested during last week’s protests against the Tel Aviv regime’s racism and police brutality say they were abused while in custody.
The Ethiopians said the Israeli police denied them medical treatment although they were badly beaten and did not allow them out to relieve themselves, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Friday.
Describing the police conduct as brutal and contemptuous, those nabbed also emphasized that they would not have been treated that way if they had different skin color.
Nebo Ari Bako, one of the protesters arrested, was quoted as saying that he had his jaw and several of his teeth broken after a policeman pulled his hair, choked him and twisted his arm while another officer hit him in the face and back of the head with a police radio.
Bako further noted that he was taken to Meir Hospital for treatment some three hours later after he was wounded.
On May 3, thousands of Ethiopians took to the streets of the city of Tel Aviv, calling for an investigation into institutionalized discrimination and violence exercised by Israeli police against Africans.
Protesters chanted and carried placards reading, « A violent policeman must be put in prison » and « We demand equal rights ».
Last week’s protests turned violent with dozens injured and several demonstrators arrested.
A similar march was held on April 30 in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) during which Israeli security forces clashed with the Ethiopian protesters.
The rally came after a video emerged showing an Ethiopian being beaten by police in a racist attack.
Ethiopians have long complained about unfair treatment and police violence in Israel. Thousands of Jews of Ethiopian origin, who are living in the occupied Palestinian territories, are treated as third-class citizens.