WEST BANK: Israeli military court sentences anti-barrier protests leader to prison
Record ID:
560823
WEST BANK: Israeli military court sentences anti-barrier protests leader to prison
- Title: WEST BANK: Israeli military court sentences anti-barrier protests leader to prison
- Date: 12th October 2010
- Summary: OFER MILITARY COURT, NEAR RAMALLAH, WEST BANK (OCTOBER 11, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MILITARY COURT VARIOUS OF ISRAELI SOLDIERS, LAWYERS AND ACTIVISTS OUTSIDE COURT WIFE OF ABDALLAH ABU-RAHMA PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST AGAINST BARRIER, MAJIDA ABU-RAHMA SPEAKING TO ISRAELI PEACE ACTIVIST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAJIDA ABU-RAHMA, WIFE OF PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST AGAINST BARRIER, SAYING "The court is illegal and unjust and it's not related to law. It's all political decisions and the intelligence is responsible for it." BROTHER OF ABDALLAH ABU-RAHMA OUTSIDE OF COURT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BROTHER OF ABDALLAH ABU-RAHMA, RATEB ABU-RAHMA, SAYING "This is an illegitimate court because Abdallah is a human rights activist defending his land which was stolen by the Israeli occupation. Abdallah's presence in detention is a breach against Abdallah and his friends." VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS LEADING ABDALLAH ABU-RAHMA, A LEADER OF WEEKLY PROTESTS AGAINST ISRAEL'S WEST BANK BARRIER, INTO COURT VARIOUS OF ABU-RAHMA IN COURT VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI ACTIVISTS AT COURT ABU-RAHMA IN COURT LAWYER OF ABU-RAHMA SPEAKING TO HIM CLOSE OF ABU-RAHMA'S SHACKLED LEGS MORE OF ABU-RAHMA IN COURT ISRAELI OFFICIAL IN COURT
- Embargoed: 27th October 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA1DR9AMDG3ERMJNVNPOSLT5OL2
- Story Text: An Israeli military court on Monday (October 11) sentenced Abdallah Abu-Rahma, a leader of weekly protests against Israel's West Bank barrier, to a year in prison.
Abdallah Abu-Rahma, coordinator of the Bilin Popular Committee Against the Wall and the Settlements, was detained in the village of Bilin last December. He was convicted on charges of incitement by an Israeli military court.
"The court is illegal and unjust and it's not related to law. It's all political decisions and the intelligence is responsible for it," said Majida Abu-Rahma, Abdallah's wife.
When he was convicted in August, the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton issued a statement saying the European Union considers the 39-year-old as a human rights defender and a man committed to non-violent protest.
Abu-Rahma organised demonstrations against the route of the Israeli barrier.
"This is an illegitimate court because Abdallah is a human rights activist defending his land which was stolen by the Israeli occupation. Abdallah's presence in detention is a breach against Abdallah and his friends," said Abdallah's brother, Majid Abu-Rahma.
Critics complained that the conviction was based on the testimonies of a few and his lawyer claimed some of them had been ill treated and their testimony should have been disregarded by the court.
Palestinians in the West Bank village of Bilin won an Israeli Supreme Court battle to have Israel's controversial West Bank barrier re-routed.
Citing hardships facing residents of the village, a three-member justice panel ordered the Israeli government and military to ensure that a section of the barrier set to cut through the village's farmland should circumvent it instead.
Palestinians call the vast network of concrete barriers and razor-wire fencing a land grab and the International Court of Justice said the barrier is illegal. Israel says it stops suicide bombers from reaching its cities. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None