Ofer - Holding and trading of combat materiel, Students

Translation: Marganit W.

Courtroom 4

Judge: Major Menahem Lieberman

Military Prosecutor: Ashhar Erez

Today is Holocaust Day. At 9:55 the gates were closed and reopened only after the siren had been sounded.

Many women attended the hearings. The security checks of bags and bodies were very thorough. We had only "light" bags that we thought were "empty", but we were wrong. The (f.) soldier considered them full: she checked every plastic card, every coin, note and crease in the bag.

When we reached the courtrooms, the doors were all locked except Courtroom 4 where Justice Lieberman would conduct trials. I am using future tense because the hearing started only after 10:30, after the Holocaust Day ceremony was over.

There were 30 cases in the docket with various charges: using fake ID, illegal exit from the territory, hurling objects, possession and trading of arms, hostile acts, membership and activity, manufacturing, throwing and laying of bombs.

There were four cases of people released on bail, among them a young man from Beit Umar. His defense attorney is Huri Ibrahim. The defendant is a student of Political Science and he has been in detention for 43 days on a charge of membership in Hamas; he has been released on bail and today is his trial. Today's session did not accomplish much because the witnesses - among them a policeman - did not show up, FOR THE SECOND TIME. Atty.Ibramim moves to release the defendant.

Judge Lieberman will hand down his decision later, maybe when he comes back from his three-week vacation abroad.

At times it was very hard to follow what was going on in the court because everyone spoke at the same time and it was not clear who said what. Thus, we made use of the attorney, as much as we could.

Atty. Tawil represented two defendants accused of manufacturing/throwing/laying of a bomb.

Ahmad Falah Ahmad Abu Gwili - Case No. 5287/09

Mahmud Bahar Ali Abu Atiya - Case No. 5328/09

Judge Lieberman waited for the defendants' families to show up. We waited for 15 minutes, while the judge reminisced with Atty. Tawil about the Muka'taa in the 90's.

Then the wife of one of the defendants arrived, followed by his mother. When the defendant and his mother tried to communicate during the trial, the attending policeman pushed the detainee out. The judge warned the defendants not to get too excited; this is not a visit.

At the same time an attending policewoman kept urging the women with cries of ‘Yallah, yallah', and the women were ushered out.

Three more detainees were let in, handcuffed together. They were represented by Atty. Alajar. The three are residents of the village of Dura.

Aakaf Hasin Jaber Abu Aliya - Case No. 5336/09, accused of possession and trading of combat materiel.

The next hearing is set for 25.5.10

Ibrahim Fuad Nofel Aduyin - Case No. 4031/09, accused of manufacturing and throwing an incendiary object.

Muhamad Fuad Nofel Aduyin - Case No. 4788/09, accused of membership and activity.

Hearing of these two cases will continue on 31.5.10