Three activists from Enough telecommunication companies movement, Jihad Abdo, Izz-aldeen Zoul and Musa al-Qaysieh, will be tried tomorrow, Tuesday, in Ramallah Magistrates’ Court charging them of defamation based on a complaint filed by the Palestinian Telecommunication Company (Paltel), due to their social and trade union activity to demand reduction in telecommunications prices and not to violate consumer protection laws and regulations.

The hearing followed the postponement of the case on 30-6-2024 to enable the complainant’s agent, represented by the Palestinian telecommunications company, to comment on a memorandum of the names of the defense witnesses in the case. The Ramallah Magistrate’s Court had authorized on the 18-4-2024 to call defense witnesses, including the Chairman of the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, to testify before the Court before reversing their summons at a 30-6-2024 hearing at the request of the complainant’s agent who had shown the court that the purpose of calling the prosecuted witnesses was to procrastinate and procrastinate the case. Deferral of their summons at the request of the complainant’s agent.

Lawyers for Justice is concerned about any decision by the Magistrate’s Court to prevent the summoning of the said witnesses, which detracts from the right of defense, noting that the previous hearing was the first session for the defense to present its evidence in the case that has been pending since 2020. It took more than four years for the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the complainant to submit the evidence, which the group considers to be a flagrant violation of fair trial guarantees and an inequitable violation of the rights of the accused.

Till Here,

Lawyers for Justice,

Issued in 3-7-2024.