Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Tue 13.10.09, Afternoon

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Observers: 
Yael L.- J. (reporting), Avital F. (driving)
Oct-13-2009
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Afternoon

Afternoon shift 2:00 till 5:00 PM

General situation: after a lot of holidays including Succoth we are back to normal.


2:55 till 3:30 PM, Etzion DCL:  on the parking lot more cars than usual, but in the hall nobody. A soldier was visible in his cabin behind thick glas, but nobody was called until 3:20 PM, even the office hours did not contain a lunch break.
 
There were two Palestinian lawyers waiting in their cars since 1:00 PM for a soldier accompanying them to the prison of Etzion. Both had clients there in custody and wanted to visit them. One lawyer from East Jerusalem told me that his client was a 52 years old man from a small village. In his garden the IDF had found an old pistol. He was in jail already for a week without being presented to a judge.
 

(Just in case this would be true, in a law state this would not be a reason for custody, because he seemed to be a permanent resident of a certain place where he could be easily reached for the Criminal procedure.)

Another client , 22 years old, had been caught when he trie to climb over the wall, because he wanted to look for work in Jerusalem.

 

When the DCL-slowly- restarted to work I was asking the officer, why a lawyer has to wait so long time for a visit at his clients. He answered that he is not in charge of the prison visit hours.

 

When we left this lawyer left too without having spoken to his clients.

 

There was a man who was asking for a permit in order to go to the American Consulate in East Jerusalem. There he intended to apply for a visa for the United States to visit a sick child. He was let in immediately.


4:10 PM, Mazmoreah (checkpoint on the road to the Herodion): flowing traffic , all cars with Israeli numbers.
 
4:30 PM, Bethlehem - Checkpoint 300:
  workers were running from the busses to the counters. Two Civil Guards ordering them in lines, containing at the beginning about 50, then 20 applicants for passages to Bethlehem. The soldiers had 4 counters open. They were working fast.

6 Arab women came to Jerusalem.

 

Remarks:

The army should show more respect to law and legal institutions. It is unbearable that a lawyer in a pending procedure cannot reach his clients in custody at any time.