Israeli High Court rules against
Judge Advocate General’s “extremely unreasonable” decision
The Israeli High Court ruled today in favor of changing the indictments filed against the soldier and commander who were involved in the shooting of a handcuffed detainee in Ni’lin, so as to reflect the gravity of the offenses. The human rights organizations who had filed the petition to change the indictments expressed satisfaction with the decision, saying that it conveys a crucial message that protection of human rights must be a primary consideration for law-enforcement agencies. The organizations said they hope that in the future, High Court intervention will not be necessary for military law-enforcement agencies to convey to soldiers and commanders an unequivocal message to safeguard human life and dignity.
However, the organizations voiced concern over the fact that even though the abuse of the handcuffed detainee was filmed and caused a public outcry, the High Court’s intervention was necessary for the army to take proper action against the offenders. They said that the many reports regarding violence by security forces in the
Background
In August 2008, Ashraf Abu Rahma petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice – with the assistance of Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem, ACRI, PCATI and Yesh Din – after having been shot by a soldier at close range while blindfolded. The petitioners demanded that the indictments filed against the soldier who fired the shot, Staff Sergeant L., and the platoon commander, lieutenant Col. Omri Borberg, be changed so as to reflect the severity of the offenses. Using a weapon to intimidate, and shooting a handcuffed detainee may amount to abuse of detainee under aggrevated circumstances, an offense that carries a penalty of seven years in prison.
Ashraf Abu Rahma is happy with the decision, although he feels it is too late, one year after the shooting. Because of the violence of Israeli soldiers in the service of the occupation, he says, there are hundreds of other similar cases to his own that go undocumented and continue to occur with impunity. On the 17th of April, 2009, his brother Bassem was shot with a tear gas canister by an Israeli soldier at a peaceful demonstration against the wall in Bil’in.
In the petition, attorneys Limor Yehuda and Dan Yakir from ACRI stated that the decision of the Military Prosecutor to charge the soldier and commander with “unbecoming conduct”, an offense which does not appear on criminal records, is highly unreasonable and conveys an alarming message of disrespect for human lives, laying the foundation for future incidents of abuse.
For more information
Nirit Moskovitch, ACRI, 052-341-0631
Libby Friedlander, Yesh Din, 054-2457682
Yoav Loeff, PCATI, 054-3368434
For more information, Please call
Abdullah Abu Rahamah, the coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bilin.
0547258210 or 0599107069
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International League for Human Rights - Protest Gaza and Bilin
Please distribute widely
Contact: vorstand@ilmr.de, Tel:0049-30-396 21 22, www.ilmr.de
Press Release
The International League for Human Rights (German Section of FIDH) protests against violent activities by the Israeli navy and army in Gaza and Bil'in!
In the afternoon of June 30th the boat Spirit of Humanity was stopped by the Israeli navy and together with all passengers was abducted to the Israeli coastal town of Ashdod. The boat and its passengers intended to address the still ongoing Israli blockade of the Gaza Strip and to break the blockade with non-violent means as part of the "Free Gaza Campaign". The boat carried relief supplies for the 1,5 million people inhabiting one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
In the morning of the same day the Israeli army invaded the village of Bil`in in the Palestinian West Bank. This was the third invasion of that kind in a couple of days.
According to the Popular Committee of Bil'in the Israeli soldiers sourrounded three houses and arrested three people. Already in the last week the army took four people at a similar occasion.In April 2009 a member of the Bil'in Popular Committee was shot dead by Israeli boarder troops during a non-violent demonstration.
For four years the Popular Committee organizes the non-violent resistance against the occupation, against settlements and the wall on the land of the village. In 2008 the Popular Committee together with the Israeli Anarchists Against the Wall was honoured with the Carl-von-Ossietzky-Medal by the International League for Human Rights in Berlin,Germany.
The International League for Human Rights is supporting the protest by the General Secretary of the peace organization Pax Christi in Germany, Christine Hoffmann, against the violent activities of the Israeli navy towards the passengers of the boat Spirit of Humanity. The „League“ is in favour of non-violence on all sides and opposes firmly the fact that civilians become victims of military violence – in Palestinian Gaza or in the Israeli city of Sderot! The people living in the Gaza Strip are still suffering from the physical and psychological consequences of the war of three weeks that Israels army waged at the beginning of the year 2009. The blockade is still going on.
We call upon the German Government, the European Union, the United States of America and the United Nations to take concrete steps vis-a-vis the Israeli government against the blockade of the Gaza Strip and against the military invasions of the village of Bilìn.
For further new informations: www.freegaza.org , www.bilin-village.org
