Letter lifting the gag order
Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 12:30 On Wednesday, February 12, the Petah Tikva Magistrates Court rejected the police request for house arrest and ordered the release of the 19-year-old Ariel resident being held by the GSS. The detainee is suspected of participating in setting a mosque on fire in the Jerusalem region and has been held for 10 days without meeting with an attorney. During previous deliberations it was revealed that the GSS deprived the detainee of sleep and there were other complaints of harassment.
The court released the detainee on condition of bail and signing in at the police station. The police requested a delay in carrying out the decision, which was rejected. Judge Erez Melamed ruled that until the appeal tomorrow, if one is filed, the detainee will be released to one day of house arrest. The judge also lifted the gag order from the case.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who represented the detainee: “This is another defeat for the General Security Service. Another case has disintegrated. A man was prevented from meeting with an attorney for ten days, even thought there was no evidence against him. The court did not only release the suspect, but also rejected the request by the police and the GSS to impose restrictive conditions on him and released him under extremely lenient conditions. The release speaks for itself.
“I am of the opinion that a message should be sent from here, and also with regards to a similar case currently being handled, to the Attorney General’s office and to the GSS, so that they will take the necessary steps to prevent similar detentions and interrogations in the future.”
Keidar speaking after the deliberation; Video credit: Honenu