Urgent appeal for the release of the child Athal Al-Azza from the prisons of the Israeli occupation
Athal Al-Azzeh has not yet completed his 14th years old, when the Israeli occupation forces kidnaped him, robed his freedom and talent of music and arts, turn it into an urgent call for freedom from behind bars. On Friday, April 15, 2022, Athal was heading to Al’azzeh refugee camp in the city of Bethlehem to tell his grandmother: “come break your fast in our house”. When he coincidently ran into one of the most powerful army in the world, he was crossing the street to inter Azzeh camp where his grandmother live, when he was terrified, by the mass scene of armed soldiers kidnaping him, carrying him away from his childhood to nowhere, his screaming of leaving me alone, I did not do anything, did not move any human conscious inside the soldiers, brutally and arbitrary arrested him. At this time, Athal’s family had no idea of their son’s fate, until at later time the Palestinian military liaison office have informed them the terrible news “ your son athal, had been taken by the Israeli soldiers to unknown location.” His mother could not take it, the fear and sad was the master of the situation. Hours later, an Israeli investigator called from an anonymous number, telling the father “I am the interrogator for your son Athal, your son under interrogation at Ataroot interrogation center”, the father had the chance to talk with the child for two minutes on the phone before the phone get cut off. Athal is still detained until this moment, his fault that he was born to a Palestinian parents, with the traces of being beaten-up on his body during the arrest and interrogation, he walked into the court of Ofer where his father and mother saw on his nick and face the signs of torture that he was subjected to during his imprisonment.
Continuing violations of human rights and public freedoms: highlighting some current cases
As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2022, the Palestinian arena is still witnessing increasing repression of public freedoms and human rights, and union and student work, and we are still in the presence of arbitrary detention without any legal justification.Recently, the most prominent violation was through firing live bullets and using weapons during the arrest process of activist and political critic Mohammed Amr on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, without presenting a legal arrest warrant. .Children were also not spared from arbitrary arrest. Shaddad Amro from Hebron, 17 years old, is still being held by the intelligence service without being brought before any legal body, in clear violation of the rules of criminal trials, and the 16-year-old child Izz al-Din Shakhshir from Nablus is in custody. Political arrest and accusation!While universities are approaching the elections of their student councils, the democratic electoral atmosphere in which the Palestinian arena celebrates, the security services are pursuing union work by arresting university students for their student activity inside the university corridors, the last of whom was the student Baraa Ghazal from Hebron University, who was arrested on Sunday, April 17, 2022, On the background of his student work.Meanwhile, Lawyers for Justice continues to arrest school teacher Ahmed Abu Fara for the fifth consecutive day on a political charge, and the Hebron Magistrate’s Court has issued an extension against him for 7 days pending investigation, and Youssef Kamil from Jenin, whose detention has been ongoing since March 31, 2022, and he received two extensions, the last one was for 15 days on April 17, 2022, on a political charge.Violation of public freedoms is not the only title in the series of violations but rather exceeded them to violations of legal procedures, such as not presenting the legal arrest warrant during the arrest process, and attaching charges that were not related to the investigation’s progress, but rather in order to obtain an extension decision from the court judge.The Lawyers for Justice is following with concern these continuous violations of basic human freedoms, which coincide with allegations of torture and ill-treatment that political detainees say they were subjected to during their detention at the security apparatus in cell conditions unfit for human life.Lawyers for Justice calls for immediate and rapid action to put an end to these violations, and protect human rights defenders and activists and renews its call for the immediate release of political detainees and human rights defenders
Lawyers for Justice denounce labor day deduction for striking teachers
Alarmingly, the Ministry of Education issues a decision to deduct one working day for teachers who went on a partial strike in protest of the failure to pay their salaries in full, in a move that is a violation of their right to peaceful expression guaranteed in the Palestinian Basic Law. The peaceful strike is a form of expression that is guaranteed in the Palestinian Basic Law, specifically Article 19 of it, which states: “Freedom of opinion is not violated, and every person has the right to express and publish his opinion verbally, in writing, or other means of expression or art, subject to the provisions of Law.” Simply, Article (1) of Decree-Law No. (11) of 2017 guarantees the right to strike for civil servants, to demand their rights, or as an expression of their rejection of decisions and actions taken against them. Lawyers for Justice denounces the persistent attempts to harass teachers in their strike and seeks to single out the Palestinian teacher by assigning direct penalties to each teacher separately, because of their refusal decision, and the peaceful demand for rights. Lawyers for Justice calls on government agencies to protect the right of teachers to strike peacefully, to ensure that they follow their human rights demands, and to stress the importance of ensuring the protection and protection of public freedoms, and not committing any human rights violations or claimants
Extending the detention of political critic Mohammed Amr for 24 hours
After the security forces fired live bullets and used weapons during his arrest, the Public Prosecution extended the detention of activist and political critic Mohammad Amr from Dura in Hebron for 24 hours, with allegations against him of “resisting security men.” At the same time, the security forces released his son, Shaddad Amr, without presenting him to the court. That is, in detention pending by the agency for more than 24 hours, in violation of the rules of a criminal trial, legal procedures, and fair trial guarantees. Lawyers for Justice renews its call for the immediate release of Mohammed Amr, ensuring his safety and health, and holding those responsible for using weapons and firing live bullets at his home to account.
Hebron University student Baraa Ghazal was arrested twice in 20 days
Within 20 days, the security forces arrested the student at Hebron University, Baraa Ghazal, twice, on the grounds of his student activity at the university, which is his right guaranteed constitutionally and academically. Going back, on March 24, 2022, from the Bab al-Zawiya area in the city of Hebron, the Preventive Security forces arrested Baraa Ghazal and two of his fellows without presenting any legal arrest warrant, and without any clear legal justification.Again, at dawn today, Sunday, April 17, 2022, the Intelligence forces re-arrested Baraa Ghazal from his home in the city of Hebron, with no legal justification being clear until now. The Lawyers for Justice group holds the General Intelligence forces responsible for the security and safety of student Baraa Ghazal, and the group holds the Preventive Security and Intelligence forces responsible for any disadvantage that will occur to the student’s academic career, which prevents repeated detention from proceeding normally. A Lawyers for Justice issued an urgent appeal to the Attorney General for the immediate release of student Ghazal, and the need to take a serious stand against the prosecution and arrest of university students against the background of their student activities, which is their right.
Trial postponed for those accused of killing activist Nizar Banat
The military judiciary in Ramallah postponed the trial session of the accused in the assassination of activist Nizar Banat until May 18, 2022. The decision to postpone comes after the defense lawyer for the accused submitted a letter requesting the postponement of the session scheduled for today, before it was held. The Lawyers for Justice indicates that, up to now, 22 sessions have been held in the trial of those accused of killing Nizar Banat.
Trial postponed for those accused of killing activist Nizar Banat
Today, Sunday, February 13, 2022, The Lawyers for Justice group followed up the postponement of the trial session for those accused of assassinating activist Nizar Banat, due to the defendants’ refusal to attend, according to a letter from the Military Intelligence Legal Adviser that arrived at the Military Prosecution this morning. Accordingly, the court decided to postpone the hearing until February 27, 2022, while informing the Military Prosecution and Military Intelligence to bring them forcibly if they continued to refuse to appear before the court.
The trial session for those accused of killing the activist Nizar Banat on January 31, 2022
On Monday, January 31, 2022, the Lawyers for Justice group attended the trial session of the accused of killing the activist Nizar Banat at the Military Court in Ramallah, as a human rights observer, in the presence of the 14 defendants, the defense attorney for the defendants, the representative of the Military Prosecution, and the lawyer for the Nizar Banat family. During the session, the court heard the defense witness, “S.Sh” an expert in information security, as he described it, and discussed him in his testimony about the CCTV clips related to the killing of activist Nizar Banat, as written in an experience report submitted by the witness to the court. In response to the question of the representative of the Military Prosecution regarding whether the witness recorded everything he saw in the clips, the witness replied: “Almost. And I summarized the information based on questions put to me by the defense on my report. In response to the court’s question about the reason for using the word Dragging to express the movement of the late Nizar Banat, the witness replied: “From the clips, it seemed to me that they dragged him, and does not walk with his own free will. He was not walking normally, he was also not drawn, but his steps were in tune with the group around him. The defense lawyer asked the court to send a letter to Al-Ahly Hospital in Hebron to provide the court, the prosecution, and the defense lawyer with the complete medical file of the late Nizar Banat. He also told the court that he would present an unknown witness during the next session set by the court on February 13, 2022
More than a year and a half ago.. the trial of journalist Anas Hawari continued to be postponed
The Magistrate Court in Tulkarm postponed the trial of journalist Anas Hawari, which is supposed to take place on Sunday, January 23, 2022, until March 23, 2022, due to the absence of the witness. Wherefore, the court decided to re-notify the witness who is a member of the intelligence service. In May 2020, the security services beat and arrested the journalist Hawari for nearly a week, after which his trial sessions began on six charges alleged by the prosecution: directing disparagement to employees, contempt of an employee on the head of his duty, Violently resisting an employee, slander the authority, violating the emergency law of 2020, and obstructing law enforcement agencies, maintaining public order, and competent crews during the declaration of a state of emergency. Lawyers for Justice group stresses that the charges against journalist Anas Hawari are nothing but a cover for attempts to restrict his journalistic work and restrictions on freedom of opinion and expression. The group also recalls the beatings and assaults that the journalist Hawari went through during his arrest. And the attempts of repression and restrictions that the journalist is witnessing. Moreover, the group denounces the continued adjournment of the court for more than a year and a half for the lack of witnesses and points out that the delay in the litigation procedures constitutes a violation of the guarantee of a fair trial.
Lawyers for Justice group condemns the continued harassment of journalists and the conviction of journalist Abdel Rahman Zaher
The Lawyers for Justice group followed up the sentencing session on the case of Palestinian journalist and filmmaker Abdel Rahman Zaher from Nablus, where they prosecuted him on three charges that affect the essence of his professional journalistic work and restricts freedom of opinion and expression. These charges include: “Dissemination of information that incites racial strife through the electronic network, and transmitting news by any of the different means of communication with the intent of causing panic and slander against the authority.” While the group was able to obtain an acquittal on two charges, which are: Publishing information inciting racial strife through the electronic network, and the transmission news by any means of communication with the intent of causing panic, it condemns what the court decided to convict journalist Abdul Rahman Zahir for defaming the authority, and sentenced him to 3 months in prison and a fine. The group also notes that the conviction decision reinforces the restriction of freedom of work for journalist Abdel Rahman Zahir, whose case was opened with his detention for 35 days at the Preventive Security Service in August 2020, during which he suffered from severe health conditions. A few days after his release, the occupation arrested him as part of his fight against the free Palestinian media and persecution of Palestinian journalists. Moreover, the Israeli occupation interrogated him on the same charges he faced during his political detention at the Preventive Security Service. Lawyers for Justice group condemns the court’s conviction decision, which restricts press freedoms and media work and freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed in the Palestinian Basic Law and international agreements signed by the State of Palestine. The group also requests local and international media and press organizations, and human rights and civil institutions to pay attention to the seriousness of what the Palestinian journalist faces, from both the prosecution of the security services and the Israeli occupation, which threatens the Palestinian journalistic reality and public freedoms.