Salem - Plea Bargain, Stone Throwing

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Observers: 
Yocheved Gonen, Hassida Shafran (reporting)
Jan-10-2016
|
Morning

Translation: Marganit W.

 

Justice Major Hilit Bar-On’s Court

 

General Note: hearings started late, after 10 AM, because the judge waited for the families to come in; she would not open the hearing until the detainee’s family arrived, except in the case of one detainee whose family did not make it.

11 cases were discussed in two hours. It was very difficult to follow because attorneys, Border Police, prosecutors, interpreters etc. were milling about all the time. The judge spoke mostly to the typist and we could not always hear what she was dictating to the protocol. It was hard to decipher the names of detaineesinfo-icon and attorneys. Thus, the report will be brief and short on detail.

 

From the docket we got the names of 6 detainees accused of “membership and activity” [in an unlawful organisatio]; one was accused of trading in military materiel and two of terrorist attacks. In each case the hearing was postponed for a later date. The dates were decided by the judge in conjunction with the defense attorneys (the reasons were mostly related to the dates when Justice Bar-On is in Salem and to other cases that the defense has to conclude there. Other deferments were due to attorneys requesting more time in order to reach a plea bargain with the prosecution and the accused.)

One defendant, Mahmoud Talej Mussa Hamed, who looked to be the youngest, and whose family was not present, was accused that on several occasions he joined a group that threw rocks and other objects at security forces at the checkpoints of Atarot (Qalandiya), Ofer and Beit-El.

His face was covered. He confessed and was convicted.

The prosecution requested the following penalty: 12 months in prison from the day of arrest – which he had already served. The violations were committed in 2014. 12 months suspended sentence for 5 years.

The Judge said: “ In the plea bargain we took into consideration the fact that the defendant was influenced by others and that there is no great potential for repeating the offence. His admission saved the court time and he has no prior conviction. The defendant was a minor at the time of the crime and there is no indication that his acts caused any damage.”

In addition, there is a fine of 4000 shekels or 4 months in jail alternatively.

The defense asked the court to accept the agreement. The judge wanted to know what the defendant studies. Answer: business administration.

 

In the last three minutes, just before lunch break, the last defendant arrived,

Yasmin Tiasir Abed Al Rahman Sha’aban.

She is accused of conspiring to commit murder.  

 

At this point we were unable to hear anything. It seemed that the defense requested a postponement, perhaps in order to reach a plea bargain.