Detainees from demonstration opposite terrorist supporters released

Monday, August 17, 2015, 17:22 On Monday, August 17 the Ashkelon Magistrate Court ordered the release of two Ashkelon residents detained on Sunday, August 16 at a counter-demonstration held opposite the Arab demonstration in support of the hunger-striking terrorist hospitalized in Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital.
The police claimed that the two detainees called out, “Death to Arabs,” assembled in a forbidden gathering and were disorderly. Initially the police informed the court that they would demand a remand extension of two days for one of the detainees and four days for the other, but close to the start of the deliberation they changed their minds and demanded to ban the detainees from entering the area of the Barzilai Hospital for 60 days.
During the deliberation the police representative admitted that an official notice stating that the gathering was forbidden had not been given by the police. Honenu attorney Avichai Hajbi, who represented the two detainees, pleaded that shouts at a demonstration did not pose a danger and demanded their unconditional release. In the end the court ordered the unconditional release one of the detainees and the release of the other detainee on condition that he be banned from entering the Barzilai Hospital for 60 days, as the police demanded.
In response to the ruling, Honenu attorney Avichai Hajbi stated that, “The Israeli Police are detaining people for no reason as if they were objects. It would be good if the court imposed a fine on the police for this unlawful act.”