A British activist who travelled to the West Bank to oppose settlement expansion is due to be deported back to the UK after being “kidnapped” by settlers.
Finn Joughin was filmed in the West Bank village of Umm al-Kheir where attempting to barricade a fence to stop settlers from entering the area.
Footage of the incident that led to his detainment shows him next to a sign reading in Arabic “Welcome to Khirbet Umm al-Kheir" and attempting to physically block a child who was trying to cross the fence.
After being held by settlers, he was handed over to Israeli police who said he was arrested “on suspicion of performing an indecent act against a minor”, according to the Times of Israel.
The interrogation included "the taking of testimonies that indicated a suspicion of a case of assaulting a minor,” police said, adding: “The suspect was arrested at the end of his interrogation and the investigation of the case is ongoing.”
According to the police, Joughin was detained by the head of the security squad of “one of the settlements adjacent to Ma’on,” a settlement south of Hebron which is recognised by the Israeli government, but the force said that those involved in detaining him were residents of an illegal outpost. His fellow activists accused the settlers of “kidnapping” him.
A British government spokesperson told the Associated Press (AP) that Joughin is due to be sent back to the UK following an intervention from the embassy.
His lawyer, Inbar Shaked Vardi, said the footage showed that he was trying to protect the village and denied allegations of indecent assault.
“He stood next to the fence in an attempt to prevent its dismantling and damage to the property of the villagers, while the settlers got close to him and were trying to forcibly pass by him,” she told Haaretz.
She added that Joughin was forced to endure “severe damage to his right to privacy and to his reputation”, adding that as far as she is aware, the police who took him in did not question the settlers who had detained him at all.
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