Honenu Attorneys Rom (L) and Keidar (R); Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, August 12, 2024, 13:32 On Sunday (August 11), Arab news media violated a gag order by publicizing video clips recorded in a courtroom, which revealed the faces of the soldiers who were detained on the Sde Teiman military base on suspicion of assaulting a Nukhba terrorist prisoner. Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who is representing some of the soldiers with Honenu Attorney Nati Rom, wrote an urgent letter to the Beit Lid Military Court President demanding that the press be barred from attending the hearings and that the instigators of the publication of the video clips be investigated. In response to the letter, the Beit Lid Military Court, which is ruling on the soldiers’ case, announced that press photographers would be barred from future hearings.
Attorney Keidar concluded his letter with several demands: “This scandal is the latest in a series of serious leaks regarding the investigations. I demand that from now on, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and all journalists be completely barred from entering the courtroom. In addition, a thorough investigation must be conducted into the identity of the individual who shared the video clips in violation of the gag order. This matter must be immediately addressed with all due seriousness.”
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit responded: “The IDF regards with great severity the publication of photos exposing the faces of the [soldiers] suspected of aggravated abuse of a security prisoner. This is a blatant violation of the gag order issued by the military court. Immediately upon discovery of the incident, a thorough examination was carried out and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit demanded that the media networks remove the documentation
.”
Please click here for a description by the detained Sde Teiman soldiers of the incident.
Please click here for a statement from Hila, the wife of one of the soldiers detained at the Sde Teiman military base on suspicion of assaulting a Nukhba terrorist, who leveled sharp criticism at the Military Advocate General over his detention.
On July 30, the court ignored the soldiers’ concerned families and held a hearing in their absence.
Initially, Honenu Attorneys Rom and Keidar were prevented on various pretexts from meeting with the detainees and granting them legal counsel.