Protesters; Photo credit: Free use
Honenu is representing those who are insisting on the investigation of the death of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l, who was tragically killed in a police car chase, and defending the many who are being detained while demonstrating for change in police behavior. The car Ahuvia was in with four other boys overturned when the police car collided with it from behind. Please click here for a list of posts connected to the case.
Monday, November 8, 2021, 10:51 The Saturday-night demonstration at the String Bridge in Jerusalem calling for Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to finalize a decision to put the policemen involved with Ahuvia Sandak’s death on trial ended with over 20 detained demonstrators, among them minors. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court accepted a demand by the police to hold some of them in remand. However, the following day (Sunday) the Jerusalem District Court overturned the decision and released all but two of the detainees. (A demonstration was also held on Thursday with over 1,000 participants. For a timeline of how the demonstration unfolded, including photographs and video clips, please click here.)
Honenu Attorneys Moshe Poleski and Nati Rom, who are representing the detainees, filed an appeal on the remand with the Jerusalem District Court. On Sunday, all but two of the detainees were released, and hearings on their remand are expected to take place.
Rom welcomed the decision to release the detainees and stated, “The Jerusalem District Court overturned the decision by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court and released all but two of the detainees. Demonstrators were detained wholesale after brutal treatment by the police. Minors were illegally handcuffed and leg-cuffed for many hours.
“When a case is examined, we see that very often there is no evidence linking the detainees to the charges against them, and sometimes the opposite: The more severe the police brutality is towards the detainee, the more severe the baseless charges against them are. This is a continuation of the whitewashing [of Sandak’s death]. Instead of allowing a demonstration to be held, the police allowed excessive use of water cannons without cause on innocent protesters, Knesset Members, and passers-by walking on the sidewalk who had no connection to the demonstration. We hope that the police will protect the right of the demonstrators to protest.”
Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski: “We regret that a justified demonstration concerning the death of Ahuvia Sandak was met with brutality and aggression by the Israeli Police. The demonstration was brutally dispersed by a large number of policemen who charged at the protesters, most of whom remained on the sidewalk.
“Most of the detentions were unnecessary, and there was no investigative need to bring the detainees, among them minors without a criminal record, to court. It was done only to harass activists. We are pleased that the Jerusalem District Court ordered the release of most of the detainees.”