Honenu operations manager violently detained outside of courthouse

Thursday, December 10, 2015, 13:49 On Thursday, December 10, Yitzhak Hazut, Honenu’s operations manager, arrived at the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court for a deliberation on the remand extension of several detainees being represented by Honenu. He was speaking with two civilians near the courthouse when policemen ordered him to enter the area designated for the protesters who were demonstrating their friends’ detentions.
Hazut explained to the policemen that he had not come for the protest and was on his way to entering the courthouse for a deliberation. The policemen violently shoved him, choked him and brought him into the designated area.
Several minutes later Hazut left the area of the protest and crossed the street in order to enter the courthouse. The policemen jumped on him and informed him that he was being detained on suspicion of disrupting public order and disturbing a policeman in the line of duty, despite his explanation that he was on his way into the courthouse. Hazut was taken to the Petah Tikva Police Station for interrogation.
Honenu regards the incident with the utmost seriousness, and intends to sue the police: “This was a false detention, and we will demand that the policemen who acted illegally and violently be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Shmuel (Zangi) Meidad, the director of Honenu, who added that, “The police and the GSS have lost their direction.”
Hazut, who is approaching the completion of his law studies, has been working for Honenu for several years, assisting detainees and their families, including accompanying them at court deliberations.