Jerusalem, August 19 (RHC)-- A Palestinian man who was detained by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalem said he has been physically abused after officers brutally beat him and branded the Star of David on his cheek, according to Israeli media reports.

The man’s lawyer presented the charges to a Jerusalem district court on Thursday, a day after he was taken from his residence in the Shuafat refugee camp.  At least 16 officers were involved in the arrest of the Palestinian man, however, none had their body cameras on, according to the Ynet news website.

The officers blindfolded the man and proceeded to beat him with their fists “in all parts of his body”, Ynet reported.  The man’s cheek was then branded with the Jewish Star of David symbol.

Wadim Shub, the Palestinian man’s lawyer, was quoted as saying in a statement that the incident was “a grave case of intentional violence and humiliation of a detainee by police” and demanded an immediate police investigation.  “As a law-abiding country, we must not put up with the phenomenon of police brutality. In this case, the nature of the injuries raises a strong suspicion that they were racially motivated,” Shub said.

The presiding judge, Amir Shaked, reportedly expressed his “horror” over the incident, the Times of Israel reported, and directed the case to the police’s internal investigations department.  The police department claimed that the man “resisted arrest, violently attacking and kicking police who responded with ‘reasonable force’ to subdue him.”