Honenu Attorney Nati Rom; Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, June 26, 2023, 15:37 Following the terror attack in Eli last week, numerous friends of the victims were detained by the GSS and held under severe conditions, including not being allowed to meet with an attorney. Honenu Attorneys Nati Rom and Adi Keidar appealed to the Jerusalem District Court on the matter. Before the hearing on the appeal, the GSS announced that they would allow four out of the five detainees to meet with an attorney today.
Attorney Rom, who is representing the detainees, stated, “We are pleased that following our appeal, minutes before the hearing, the GSS announced that they would allow us to meet with the detainees. Because the matter at hand is suspected property crimes, the detention of the murder victims’ friends by the GSS is unprecedented. The detainees are still being held in a GSS facility, in solitary, and they are being interrogated with harsh methods. We are on our way to them to examine their mental and physical condition.
“Unfortunately, the Jewish Department of the GSS and the Yehuda and Shomron Police are discriminating and serving detainees suspected of property crimes with orders prohibiting meeting with an attorney, which is unparalleled in the State of Israel. We are pleased that we succeeded in stopping the serious violation of the detainees’ rights. We hope that the GSS does not try to extend their remand with administrative orders or other means.”
However, an additional detainee, a soldier serving in the Shomron Brigade who was detained on Shabbat near Ateret, is still prohibited from meeting with an attorney. The soldier was initially interrogated by the Yehuda and Shomron Police and he was allowed to speak with Attorney Rom. Several hours after his detention, the soldier was transferred to the GSS and served with an order prohibiting him from meeting with an attorney.