Ofer - Membership/activity in unauthorized association, Minors

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Feb-20-2019
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Afternoon

Translation: Marganit W.

Ofer Military Court 20.2.19

Nitza Aminov (reporting)

 

What makes me cringe in court is the sight of the detaineesinfo-icon looking longingly at the entrance to see if a family member has arrived (when conversations begin, they often ignore the hearing in the court).

 

Today, Atty. Ahlam Haddad petitioned Judge Zvi Heilbronn for a postponement. The judge hastened to move to the next case. The attorney cried out, “Wait! The father has not been summoned yet!” A few minutes later, the father came in and the judge said, “OK, give him a minute to talk to his father, then get him out.”

 

A hearing was scheduled for Asraa Laffi, one of the Hebron women arrested on charges of belonging to the Women’s Committee.

She is accused of being a member and office holder in an unlawful organization. She is represented by Atty. Ahlam Haddad.

 

According to my and the attorney’s notes, the hearing was supposed to start at 13:30. To be on the safe side, we arrived at 11. It turned out that Asraa had been brought to the court, but her attorney was not present. The judge would not conduct the hearing without the attorney. He said that he had it scheduled for 9:30. Asraa was later brought in, but it was not clear if her family would show up, or if they were refused entry because the hearing was scheduled for after the recess. The family could not be located, so after a short exchange, in which the defense reported on negotiation with the prosecution, the hearing was set for 25.3.19 at 13:30.

 

Two juveniles were brought in for remand extension. In the yard I had heard the father describe to Atty. Munther Abu Ahmad how the son and his cousin had been abducted from their home the night before. One is 14, the other 15.

But, thank God for small mercies, the attorney was able to get them released unconditionally.

Who knows how the kidnapping and the interrogations have affected the two youngsters.

 

In the yard I met friends from Beit Ummar, who had lost count of detainees and prisoners from their village. They kept adding names, making comments such as, “this one is detained again, after his release a few months ago.” Then they concluded, “ What does it matter? Every day and every night they arrest people in our village, often attacking with a gas, breaking in and wreaking havoc.”

We got used to it.