Thursday, January 10, 2019, 8:23 The following is a translation of a letter sent by Honenu
Summonses thrown on table; Photo credit: Elyashuv Har-Shalom
Attorney Amir Bracha on behalf of the yeshiva students to the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police with regards to the illegal distribution of summonses at the yeshiva in Rechalim. (The link includes a video clip of the incident.)
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
To the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police
Re: The attempted “distribution” of summonses today at the yeshiva in Rechalim
- My letter to you concerns your invalid, not to mention ridiculous, attempt to summon the students of the yeshiva in Rechalim to interrogation by storming into the beit midrash [study hall] of the yeshiva and “throwing” the summonses onto one of the tables.
- This conduct is illegal, aggressive and improper, to put it mildly, and all the more so when an educational institution and minors are involved.
- Beyond the letter of the law, and not out of any need, I hereby inform you that today’s attempts to issue summonses by “throwing warrants” on a table in the beit midrash are illegal, inadmissible and incompatible with the demands of the law with regards to minors.
- If you intend to summon anyone to any proceedings, you must do so legally and lawfully, in person and discreetly, and not by “throwing a pile of papers” into the beit midrash of a yeshiva where he is studying. This was a deliberate expression of contempt, conduct which does not befit any legal authority in a democratic state and a violation of the rights of the summoned minors and their families.
- Why must the summons of a minor to the police station, which bears his name and personal details, be left lying in public for all to see?
- Additionally, I would like to mention that in light of your thuggish and illegal conduct, and in light of the testimonies coming from the interrogation rooms, the parents of the students are very concerned for the emotional and physical well-being of their children. Therefore at this stage and due to the ridiculous manner in which you chose to act, namely summoning minors to interrogation at the police station in a horrifically negligent manner while severely violating their privacy, illegally, such that their parents were not able to accompany them as they should, and in a manner that does not honor an investigating authority in a state which raises the banner of fundamental rights, the students do not intend to report to the police station.
- It is unfortunate that the Israeli Police tramples so vulgarly the rights of citizens in general and minors in particular.