Brothers of 'Ajami' director: Cops beat us during arrest

Two brothers of "Ajami" co-director Scandar Copti were released yesterday, several hours after being arrested on Saturday night, not far from the Jaffa neighborhood for which the Oscar-nominated film was named.

Tony Copti and Jeras Copti claim that the arresting officers used excessive force against them. They say that they were trying to prevent the police officers from arresting a number of children in Jaffa who were suspected of hiding drugs. According to the Coptis, the children were merely burying the body of their pet dog.

"I have pain throughout my body, I'm dizzy and my face still hurts from the pepper spray the officers sprayed on me," Jeras Copti told Haaretz yesterday. "After they started to beat me I found myself on the cruiser while they were dragging me all over the street."

He said he got involved in the incident after returning home from his shift at Babai, a popular restaurant nearby, and saw the officers and the children.

"When we got to the police station they took me out of the car and began beating me, and I fell to the ground. On the way there I saw that my brother was in pain from the pepper spray and I kept telling them to help them because he was suffering," Jeras continued. "At the station a cop came over and without saying anything he sprayed the pepper spray into my eyes. The rest of the cops stood around, laughing.

"They put me into an interview room and one of the officers took a bullhorn, the kind they have at soccer games, and pressed it to my ear. I was sure my eardrum was punctured. I shouted at them, 'Why are you doing this to me,' and one of them said, 'What we did to you people in Gaza was just the beginning.' When the detective came I told her I couldn't be with my hands handcuffed behind by back because my face was burning, and asked her to cuff my hands in front. She asked me if I wanted to assault her. I have an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering and an MBA. I've never been in an interrogation room and have never been arrested. I sat there, helpless, trying to figure out this nightmare," Jeras said.

Tony Copti, 29, is credited as production manager for Ajami. He watched the incident from the doorway of his home, and when he realized his brother was involved he approached and was also arrested.

"I went up to one of the officers and said there was no need for violence, and that I want to talk to him to calm things down. I barely managed to say anything when another officer came up and began pushing me. I fell down and then two of them jumped on me and sprayed me in the face."

Tony said that after a few hours of verbal and physical violence the brothers' lawyer arrived, and that this combined with the local and foreign media waiting outside the police station made the police realize they should end the incident with minimal damage to their reputation.

They said the police suddenly let them wash their faces and said they'd let them go in exchange for not talking to the media.

The Israel Police said the Coptis assaulted the officers during the original incident.