Honenu Attorney Nati Rom; Photo credit: Honenu
Wednesday, July 5, 2023, 15:36 A hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court on the case of a Yehuda and Shomron resident who has been detained by the GSS for approximately ten days ended a short time ago. Now that the court has lifted a gag order, several details may be revealed: The resident was detained after the Eli terror attack and has been held under extremely severe conditions.
The remand conditions include solitary conditions in a small cell, bright lighting 24 hours a day, and alternating freezing and sweltering temperatures in the cell, from which the detainee suffered greatly. In light of these extreme conditions, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Amir Shaked recommended that the detainee be transferred to a different cell under other conditions. The court rejected the request by the GSS for a six-day remand extension and extended it by four days only. The detainee is suspected of property crimes and throwing a Quran.
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom, who is representing the detainee, stated, “The Jewish Department of the GSS and the Department of Nationalist Crime in the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police have turned into a public relations bureau. They detained a man on suspicion of throwing a Quran after a terror attack, and held him in solitary in a small, dirty cell, with a bright light shining 24 hours a day, as they alternately froze and boiled the cell. This is abuse for the sake of abuse. They have barely presented him with any accusations. The entire purpose of the detention is to break his spirit and to look good for the media. The dozens of similar instances of vandalism, TikTok videos, and incitement in the Arab sector are not even investigated, certainly not by the GSS. This is an embarrassment and a disgrace. Every Israeli citizen should be concerned by this. Selective law enforcement is an acute problem. We hope that the persecution of Yehuda and Shomron residents will cease immediately.”