Yesterday, for instance, seven Gush Katif men were finally released from prison, after spending more than 10 full days in jail. They were arrested while participating in a non-violent demonstration against the removal of the security checkpoints controlling Arab traffic near Gush Katif. Arutz-7's Moshe Priel spoke yesterday with their lawyer, quoted above.
Priel reported last night, "The Kafkaesque story finally came to an end of sorts today... Many of the legal experts here say they've never seen anything like this before. The men were arrested 11 days ago, and were brought before Judge Drora Beit-Ohr in Be'er Sheva, with the Prosecution asking for them to be held until the end of the proceedings against them. The judge pushed off the session because of a technical bureaucratic reason. The case was then delayed another time because of an announcement that the same judge, Drora Beit-Ohr, had become sick and could not preside over the session. Arutz-7 revealed that day that she was in fact in the building.
"Finally, on Thursday, the judge ordered them released, but the Prosecution filed an appeal in the District Court. This kept them in prison until Sunday, when the District Court judge said he had to study the case, and finally [on Monday], he ordered them released. Some were placed under house arrest, and the others may not leave their communities.
"After this announcement, the families went through another few minutes of agonizing tension and suspense when the Prosecution informed the judge that it plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and requests that the release be held up until then. The judge thought about it, and finally decided that he would not hold up the release, and that the Prosecution could appeal even if the men are at home."
Atty. Adi Keidar, filling in yesterday for Atty. Mordechai Vurtzberger in the case, commented afterwards, "I'm happy that the court finally put an end to the terrible suffering of the men and boys and their families. I don't think there was any reason for the courts to have been so stringent with them. If a punishment is to be meted out to them, they can serve their sentences then..."
Priel asked, "As the lawyer in at least the last part of this case, does it appear to you that what happened here is a reflection of what is going to happen in another 5-6 months [regarding those who oppose the withdrawal from Gush Katif and northern Shomron]?|
Keidar: "It doesn't merely 'appear' to me – it's for sure. I've been representing many protestors over the past two weeks, and I [see what's going on.] I've never, never seen a case where a request for custody until the end of legal proceedings has been made for a protestor, except for one incident... This is clearly an escalation, and an attempt to block democracy and freedom of speech in an inappropriate manner. I think the police should do an accounting of whether this is really the correct way for them to deal with this."
Priel reported last night, "The Kafkaesque story finally came to an end of sorts today... Many of the legal experts here say they've never seen anything like this before. The men were arrested 11 days ago, and were brought before Judge Drora Beit-Ohr in Be'er Sheva, with the Prosecution asking for them to be held until the end of the proceedings against them. The judge pushed off the session because of a technical bureaucratic reason. The case was then delayed another time because of an announcement that the same judge, Drora Beit-Ohr, had become sick and could not preside over the session. Arutz-7 revealed that day that she was in fact in the building.
"Finally, on Thursday, the judge ordered them released, but the Prosecution filed an appeal in the District Court. This kept them in prison until Sunday, when the District Court judge said he had to study the case, and finally [on Monday], he ordered them released. Some were placed under house arrest, and the others may not leave their communities.
"After this announcement, the families went through another few minutes of agonizing tension and suspense when the Prosecution informed the judge that it plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and requests that the release be held up until then. The judge thought about it, and finally decided that he would not hold up the release, and that the Prosecution could appeal even if the men are at home."
Atty. Adi Keidar, filling in yesterday for Atty. Mordechai Vurtzberger in the case, commented afterwards, "I'm happy that the court finally put an end to the terrible suffering of the men and boys and their families. I don't think there was any reason for the courts to have been so stringent with them. If a punishment is to be meted out to them, they can serve their sentences then..."
Priel asked, "As the lawyer in at least the last part of this case, does it appear to you that what happened here is a reflection of what is going to happen in another 5-6 months [regarding those who oppose the withdrawal from Gush Katif and northern Shomron]?|
Keidar: "It doesn't merely 'appear' to me – it's for sure. I've been representing many protestors over the past two weeks, and I [see what's going on.] I've never, never seen a case where a request for custody until the end of legal proceedings has been made for a protestor, except for one incident... This is clearly an escalation, and an attempt to block democracy and freedom of speech in an inappropriate manner. I think the police should do an accounting of whether this is really the correct way for them to deal with this."