Ofer - Assault of soldier/policeman, Health Problems

Translation: Marganit W.

Judge: Sebastian Osovsky

Ibrahim Bassem Muhammad Hamed – ID 937430775

Defense: Atty. Ismail A-Tawil

We see a judge, a typist, an interpreter, 4 attorneys waiting to represent their clients, a prison guard and security men, while the accused and his brother sit on a bench in the audience. We even heard that there is an agreement with the prosecution, but the trial has not started because the file cannot be found. So they began the hearing of the next case, but half way through the lost file was found and made its way to the courtroom.

Ibrahim, from the village of Siluwad, is accused of disturbance and assault on a soldier. He came to court from his home, being released on bail for almost two years. He would have forgotten the whole affair had he not been blocked from entering and working in Israel. Even inside the West Bank he is routinely stopped and interrogated at checkpoints.

On December 15, 2015 (about two and a half years ago) on the road from Ein Yabroud to Siluwad, he was stopped by soldiers and submitted to security checking. He was frisked and searched – both acts of control and domination. Ibrahim objected to the invasive search and was detained. This is how a provocation is created leading to an inevitable deterioration. He also refused to “accompany” them (such a nice word).

He is charged that he grabbed the hand of the commander, pushed him and even pulled at the barrel of his rifle.

This is a typical phrasing of indictments in the military courts – the facts are basically true, but the provocation is not mentioned. As if Ibrahim pulled at the rifle on a whim.

The commander fired in the air, and when Ibrahim again tried to grab the gun, the soldier shot him in the leg. He spent a week in detention, then remand extension, then 7000- shekel bail; this was two years ago.

The judge ordered 4000 shekels of the 7000 returned, so the fine for assaulting a solider is now 3000.

I later spoke to the young man and his brother. I learned that on top of the 7000 shekels they paid two years ago, they also paid 9000 shekels to an attorney. I was surprised and asked why they had not contacted the Prisoner’s Office (which is free). They were not aware of this option. I wondered: After 50 years of occupation you don’t know which PA offices offer services for free? No, they said, this is our family’s first encounter with the system.

Samer Rabah Mustafa Sais – ID 911549601

Defense: Atty. Ahlam Haddad

Charge: membership and activity (in proscribed organization), but the hearing in his case makes no headway. The defense attorney invoked Samer’s health: she complained to the judge that she has not been able to get his medical record. The judge asked the accused if he is willing to surrender his medical confidentiality. He said yes. The judge ordered the prison authorities to transfer a copy of his record to the defense so the trial can proceed.

The judge’s question regarding medical confidentiality is ridiculous. IDF intelligence invades the most intimate areas of Palestinian lives, using the info to control, harass and intimidate, exposing every aspect: illnesses, reading material, family feuds, matchmaking plans, sexual orientation, daily fare, school curriculum – but the judge, sticking to rules and regulations, participates in this charade, asking Samer if he agrees to reveal his medical record. Every aspect of Palestinian life under occupation is exposed and known, including their thoughts.

The hearing in the case of Samer’s membership will resume on 3.10.18.

Khaled Omar Hussein Beirat – ID 412661936

Ahmed Ibrahim Saleh Beirat – 404785529

Both live in Kafr Malik.

Defense: Atty. Ahlam Haddad,

The two are related, perhaps brothers. Both are accused of membership and activity. Khaled is a science student at Bir Zeit University. He was arrested 5 months ago.

The defense has reached an agreement with the prosecution, but the latter ‘froze’ it and refuses to present it to the judge.

The judge voiced his resentment, saying he knows of no such procedure. He is going to “thaw” the frozen document and allow the resumption of the case, so the court can learn what the two young men talked about, when and with whom.

Two family members of the defendants were in court. Mere two minutes elapsed from when the defendants entered and when left the court. Think of the hundreds, perhaps thousands of people getting up at the crack of dawn, waiting at checkpoints, standing for hours in the yard outside the court, to be finally admitted so they can see their relative and asks how he is doing… Two minutes later they are ushered out by the security guard, because the hearing is over.

From that moment on, the usual business of the court took place: postponements, re-schedulings, memoranda, arraignment, and assigning attorneys – routine court procedure.