Israeli Court Orders the Release of Detained Nonviolent Activist

Thursday May 10, 2012 01:59 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

Palestinian nonviolent activist, Bassem Tamimi, 45, from Nabi Saleh village, north of the central West Bank city of Ramallah, spent more than 13 months in Israeli prisons. Earlier on Friday, an Israeli court rejected an appeal filed by the Israeli prosecution against his release, yet imposed severe restrictions on him including confining him to the Ramallah district.

Bassim Tamimi - Image By Tamimi Press

The court also ruled that Tamimi is to be placed under house arrest Thursday to Saturday every week until further notice. The move is meant to prevent him from joining the weekly nonviolent protests, joined by Israelis and Internationals, against the illegal Israeli Annexation Wall and settlements

Tamimi was abducted from his home after Israeli soldiers invaded it on March 24, 2011, and was indicted on charges related to “organizing protests in his village”.
It is worth noting that Tamimi has been officially recognized by the European Union (EU) as a defender of Human Rights while Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience.

The Popular Struggle Coordination Committee reported that, during Tamimi’s trial, new evidence has emerged, including testimony from an Israeli military commander who stated that the army uses excessive force against nonviolent protesters, and that the interrogators systematically violate the rights of political prisoners, especially detained children.

The commander also testified that, during his 25 years of service, he cannot recall even a single incident where a detained Palestinian child was allowed to have his parents present during interrogation, a requirement under both International and Israeli law.

All Palestinian political prisoners are interrogated for different periods, some even for months, without being allowed to have a legal representation. Several local and international human rights groups condemned Israel for its violations against the detainees, especially its use of torture and abuse against the detainees.

ramallah | prisoners | news report saed at imemc dot org