Alaa Hmaidan
Lawyers for Justice group has followed with concern the arrest of the community activist Alaa Hmaidan, owner of the “Knights of the Great Dawn” initiative, which aims to enhance the resilience of citizens in several areas by going to pray dawn.Alaa hmidan was arrested by the Preventive Security Service in Nablus on 2/22020 because of his community activities, where he was presented on 3/22020 for investigation in the Public Prosecution offices in Nablus on charges of collecting and receiving funds from illegal associations which is a political charge that the prosecution used the general public directed its political detainees and human rights defenders in Palestine. Ala denied the charge against him, and his detention was extended for 48 hours.On 5/2/2020 Lawyers for Justice, Ala Hmaidan, was arrested before the Nablus Magistrate’s Court and his detention was extended for 5 days in order to give the Public Prosecution an opportunity to build an investigative file.Lawyers for justice filed the following day with a request to release Alaa on bail, but the request was rejected for the same purpose (the investigation).Lawyers for Justice are launching an urgent appeal for the release of activist human rights defender Alaa Hmaidan, owner of the initiative (Knights of the Great Dawn), and the group is very concerned about the use of political charges by activists and human rights defenders for the purposes of arresting and interrogating them with project activities that fall under freedom of work Human rights and freedom of opinion and expression.Lawyers for Justice group are calling the local and international human rights organizations and the media to follow up on this case, thus demand that the Palestinian Authority stop the trial of the detained activist Alaa Hmaidan and release him freely.
The 20th trial of Dr. Adel Samara will be held on Wednesday
The Ramallah Magistrate Court will hold the 20th session of Dr. Adel Samara on Wednesday, November 27, 2019 at 9:00 am, more witnesses will be heard to defense Dr. Samara, after the prosecution has finished his evidence in the last sessions, lawyers for justice has been represents and following Dr. Samara’s case since its inception. The trial of Dr. Samara started after he was summoned on 29 June 2016, and interrogated on the basis of a complaint filed by “A.M”, the complaint was because Samara wrote a statement denouncing a contradictory normalization paper; signed by Palestinian factions entitled “Call and cry from the depths”, calling for the establishment of a state with the settlers. It was not Dr. Adel Samara who wrote and published the statement that included the plaintiff’s name; also the statement was signed by hundreds of Arabs, knowing that he does not hide his opinion against normalization. The Magistrate’s Court had indicted Dr. Adel for “threatening or insulting by telephone” in violation of Article 91a of the Wireless Telecommunications Law No. 3 of 1996. Mentioning that Dr. Samara was born in 1944, holds a PhD in Political Economy and Development from the Universities of London and Exeter in Britain, plus he has 30 books in Arabic and English, some of which have been translated into French and written about economics, nationalism, women, development and socialism, and has published many researches and articles, he was arrested in 1963 and 1965 in Jordan for two and a half years, on the grounds of membership of the movement of Arab nationalists – heroes of return, in 1967 he was arrested by the occupation for five years on the back of his membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and another five months in 1979 against the background of his previous membership, and for a month by the Palestinian Authority for signing and publishing a statement of” twenty” against corruption, Samara worked as an economic advisor and journalist in more than one international economic institution. He accompanied the martyr Naji al-Ali in London and left after his assassination.
Statement by Lawyers for Justice regarding the deportation of activist Omar Shaker
Following the decision of the Israeli Interior Minister to deport human rights activist and defender Omar Shaker, the director of Human Rights Watch’s office in Palestine, Lawyers for Justice strongly condemns the deportation decision and the subsequent endorsement of it by the Israeli District Court of Jerusalem. This is an integral part of the policy of deportation practiced by the Israeli occupation authorities against anyone who carries a humanitarian and moral message towards the reality of which Palestinians are subjected to continuously by the ongoing occupation that has lasted for more than seventy years. The group considers the deportation decision, which was upheld by the Israeli Supreme Court in occupied Jerusalem on backgrounds of what the Minister of Interior of the occupation government described as hostile activity, in light of Shaker’s activity as a human rights activist and defender in the occupied territories. Lawyer for justice considers this act a continuation of a long-existing policy of legalization and legitimization of the occupation as well as authorization to the Israeli Army to wipe out any humanitarian message or anti-occupation human rights speech, and eradicate any call to end the occupation which has long been and continues to be a burden on the people of the free world. Lawyers for Justice, therefore, calls on all activists, human rights defenders and freedom activists to continue to carry out their humanitarian mission and their human rights activities to end the occupation and achieve freedom. The group urges to intensify messages of solidarity and provide moral support to the activist Omar Shaker and all defenders, liberals, and activists for freedom and for the respect for human rights.
Lawyers for Justice “follows with concern the allegations of torture and miss-treatment reported by the detainee Mohammed Zahran” by the Public Prosecution
Lawyers for justice followed up with Mohammed Zahran’s case on Tuesday, whom is a detainee for the GID in Ramallah, since Monday 18/11/2019 Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed Zahran, from Deir Abu Mish’al town, Ramallah’s district, a prisoner of liberation who spent three years in Israeli jails, Zahran works in the Anti-Corruption Commission, where attorney Muhannad Karajeh attended yesterday’s prosecution session held for Zahran at about 1:30 pm. “Lawyers for justice” worried about all the allegations of torture and miss-treatment raised by Zahran before the prosecution and documented in his reports, that he was tortured for more than 45 minutes, Zahran said yesterday that his hands were handcuffed, “his hands were placed behind his back, the handcuffs were tied to a rope and hung from the ceiling, this terrible mistreatment continued over 45 minutes, Zahran confirmed that they stripped off his clothes and kept him with a blouse while the weather was very cold, and then transferred him to a spot called “refrigerator” area which does not exceed one meter in length and meters across, and does not contain a mattress, which he could not sleep in it all night last night, plus he was not allowed to go to the bathroom. The Public Prosecution noted yesterday that Zahran had redness spots on his hands and decided to arrest him for 48 hours, but to show up again to the Public Prosecution on Thursday. Prosecutors accuse Zahran of collecting and receiving illegal money from illegal parties and the court released him with 200 dinars of bail, later the file was closed without conviction, and “Lawyers for Justice” group asserts that prosecuting the person on the same charge twice which is illegal. “Lawyers for Justice” considers this statement to be a communication to the Attorney General to open an investigation into the allegations of torture and miss-treatment reported by Zahran before the prosecution, In compliance with the international agreements and treaties against torture and miss-treatment signed by the State of Palestine.
A statement for “Lawyers for Justice” about the arrested student, Abdul Rahman Hamdan
Lawyers for Justice are following with great concern the arrest of a student at Birzeit University, Abd al-Rahman Hamdan, who was arrested by the General Intelligence Service up to 12:30 p.m last Thursday.Today, lawyers for justice have been present in the Public Prosecution offices since the morning to attend the investigation with Abd al-Rahman.Also, Abdul Rahman is about to graduate from the university, and since discussing his graduation project next Wednesday, keeping him arrested will lead to the loss of his academic future. “Lawyers for Justice” reject any detention that comes against the background of political opinion, student union work, or freedom of opinion and expression.
A statement to the public opinion on the decision for blocking media websites on the Internet
Lawyers for justice got surprised by the decision from the content of the judicial issued by the Ramallah Magistrate Court issued on 17/10/2019, this decision comes after the issuance of a similar decision with the same content that holds the number 11/2017 on 2/7/2017. Lawyers for justice consider the aforementioned decision issued by a Palestinian court as a political decision, with a legal cover aimed at curbing any media activity inconsistent with the policies of the existing political system, and this considered an infringement of rights and freedoms and reflects the government’s lack of seriousness in the decisions adopted by the public opinion on respect for freedoms and other opinion and also the freedom of press work in Palestine. Lawyers for Justice affirm that the decision violates the Palestinian Basic Law, as well as international agreements signed by the State of Occupied Palestine, which is committed to respect for rights and freedoms Including freedom of opinion and expression, especially when the incitement against national values, heritage and culture is proliferating and the approach to normalization continues without questioning or accountability. Lawyers for justice also affirm the necessity of reversing this decision and canceling all its legal effects, and not issuing such illegal decisions, and not issuing the law of freedom of speech, implication of this, is the exploitation of the practitioner against organs of the judiciary. Lawyers for justice had filed an appeal with the number 44/2018 before the Court of first Instance in Ramallah as an appeal against the previous decision, which was number 11/2017, lawyers for justice decided not to accept it from the court at the time, under the pretext of lack of jurisdiction according to the decision of the Appealing Court.