ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES／PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY：
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER SIGNS PLEA BARGAIN

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Anas Barghouti, 30, is a human rights lawyer and activist from the village of Dier Ghassaneh, north of Ramallah. He has worked as a lawyer for Addameer Association for Prisoner Support and Human Rights since 2009 and, through this work, has provided legal support and representation for Palestinians held by the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces. His main responsibility was to follow up on cases of arbitrary arrests by the PA and represent victims in courts, including the Palestinian Supreme Court. According to Addameer, Anas Barghouti was often harassed by the PA security forces for his work in defending the human rights of Palestinian detainees.

Anas Barghouti’s other human rights work included organizing and participating in events and activities calling for the protection and respect of the human rights of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons. His arrest is part of a pattern of harassment by the Israeli authorities of Palestinian human rights organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and activists working with them, which includes arbitrary detentions, restrictions on movement, and raids of homes and offices.

Addameer has been among the organizations affected. On 11 December 2012, Israeli forces raided the offices of Addameer and two other Palestinian NGOs in Ramallah, seizing computers, work files and equipment and ransacking the premises.

Addameer workers other than Anas Barghouti have been targeted individually. Israeli military orders have banned Addameer’s chair, Abdullatif Ghaith, from entering the West Bank or travelling abroad since 2011. On 23 September 2013, one week after Anas Barghouti was arrested, Israeli forces arrested Samer Arbid, Addameer’s accountant, who, according to the organization, had previously been under administrative detention for 30 months.

The most serious allegations concern the case of Addameer researcher and human rights defender Ayman Nasser. According to his lawyer, he was tortured during interrogation following his arrest by Israeli forces on 15 October 2012. He told his lawyer that he was interrogated for up to 20 hours every day and that during the interrogation he was kept in a stress position on a chair with his hands tied behind his back.

Ayman Nasser was presented to a military court on 12 December 2012 and charged with offences including membership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and carrying out activities within this organization in support of Palestinian prisoners. According to his lawyer, Ayman Nasser denies the charges and says that his activities in solidarity with prisoners were carried out in his capacity as a human rights defender with Addameer and the Handala Cultural Centre. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison after a plea bargaining process in the military court. He is currently detained at Megiddo prison in Israel and is due to be released in November 2013.

The Israeli authorities also frequently prevent Addameer lawyers from visiting the prisoners and detainees they represent.

Name: Anas Bargouthi

Gender m/f: m

Further information on UA: 276/13 Index: MDE 15/017/2013 Issue Date: 3 October 2013

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Anas Barghouti was arrested by the Israeli army at a military checkpoint north of Bethlehem in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 15 September 2013. He had been on his way home to Ramallah after a visit to friends and family. At around 7pm soldiers stopped the car in which he was travelling and arrested him after he said he was a lawyer and presented his Bar Association card. Soldiers confiscated his phone and questioned him, then blindfolded and handcuffed him and transferred him to a detention centre in the illegal Israeli settlement of Etzion. He was then taken to Ofer military complex where he was held until his release. He was first presented to a military court on 16 September when a judge agreed to the military prosecutor’s request to extend his detention without charge until 22 September. On that date, his detention was again extended until 24 September when he was charged. He had a court hearing on 1 October at which his trial was postponed until 9 October and then adjourned again until 23 October.

Anas Barghouti is from the village of Dier Ghassaneh, north of Ramallah. He has worked as a lawyer for Addameer Association for Prisoner Support and Human Rights since 2009 and, through this work, has provided legal support and representation for Palestinians held by the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces. His main responsibility was to follow up on cases of arbitrary arrests by the PA and represent victims in court, including the Palestinian Supreme Court. According to Addameer, Anas Barghouti was often harassed by the PA security forces for his work in defending the human rights of Palestinian detainees.

Anas Barghouti’s other human rights work included organizing and participating in events and activities calling for the protection and respect of the human rights of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons. His arrest was part of a pattern of harassment by the Israeli authorities of Palestinian human rights organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and activists working with them, which includes arbitrary detentions, restrictions on movement, and raids on homes and offices.

Addameer is one of the organizations affected. On 11 December 2012, Israeli forces raided their offices and two other Palestinian NGOs in Ramallah, seizing computers, work files and equipment and ransacking the premises. Addameer workers other than Anas Barghouti have been targeted individually. Israeli military orders have banned Addameer’s chair, Abdullatif Ghaith, from entering the West Bank or travelling abroad since 2011. On 23 September 2013, one week after Anas Barghouti was arrested, Israeli forces arrested Addameer’s accountant, Samer Arbid. He was placed in custody for questioning until 21 October, when he was given a four-month administrative detention order (a military order by which the authorities hold him without charge or trial, renewable indefinitely).

The most serious allegations concern the case of Addameer researcher and human rights defender Ayman Nasser. According to his lawyer, he was tortured during interrogation following his arrest by Israeli forces on 15 October 2012. He told his lawyer that he was interrogated for up to 20 hours every day and that during the interrogation he was kept in a stress position on a chair with his hands tied behind his back. He was convicted by a military court in November 2012 on charges including membership of the PFLP and carrying out activities in support of Palestinian prisoners. He spent a year in prison and was released on 21 October 2013.

The Israeli authorities also frequently prevent Addameer lawyers from visiting the prisoners and detainees they represent.

Name: Anas Barghouti

Gender m:

Further information on UA: 276/13 Index: MDE 15/018/2013 Issue Date: 25 October 2013

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Anas Barghouti was arrested by the Israeli army at a military checkpoint north of Bethlehem in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 15 September 2013. He had been on his way home to Ramallah after a visit to friends and family. At around 7pm Israeli soldiers stopped the car in which he was travelling and arrested him after he said he was a lawyer and presented his Palestinian Bar Association card. The soldiers confiscated his phone and questioned him, then blindfolded and handcuffed him and transferred him to a detention centre in the illegal Israeli settlement of Etzion. He was then taken to Ofer military complex where he was held until his release on bail. He was first presented to a military court on 16 September when a judge agreed to the military prosecutor’s request to extend his detention without charge until 22 September. On that date, his detention was again extended until 24 September when he was charged. He had a court hearing on 1 October at which his trial was postponed until 9 October and then adjourned again until 23 October, when he was released on bail.

At the time of his arrest, Anas Barghouti was working for Addameer Association for Prisoner Support and Human Rights, an NGO based in Ramallah, and, through this work, was providing legal support and representation for Palestinians held by the Palestinian security forces. His main responsibility was to follow up on cases of arbitrary arrests by the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and represent victims in court, including the Palestinian Supreme Court. Anas Barghouti says he faces ongoing harassment by the Palestinian security forces for his work in defending the human rights of Palestinian detainees, for example obstructing his visits to Palestinian prisons and telling his clients not to work with him. Anas Barghouti’s other human rights work included organizing and participating in events and activities calling for the protection and respect of the human rights of Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli prisons.

Anas Barghouti spoke to Amnesty International about the effect his ongoing case has had on him: “The day of the court is a day gone, and it creates a tension within me and with my family. Especially when you’re in the court from 10am-4pm and your phone is taken away from you, so there’s no way for my family to know what is happening. When I have a hearing I make sure I clear my calendar, I make sure I have no work or social commitments. I am a lawyer, but when I go to court, this is nullified. The travel ban also makes me feel as if I am in a big prison – I can neither go inside Israel nor abroad.”

Military trials at Ofer Military Court are frequently postponed when the prosecution has failed to produce their witnesses – who are often other Palestinian prisoners, or members of the Israeli forces. Amnesty International has in the past expressed concern in certain cases that repeated and unjustified delays in trials were themselves a method of punishing Palestinians who were either detained or on bail. Palestinians face unfair trial before an Israeli military court, whose proceedings fall short of international standards for fair trial. Judges and prosecutors are recruited from the Israeli military. Judges are appointed by the Regional Commander on the Military Advocate General’s recommendation and promoted almost exclusively from the ranks of prosecutors. Once appointed, judges have no right of tenure and can be removed by the Regional Commander at any time. Serious doubts have been expressed about their impartiality. Trials are often based on confessions from witnesses who have been known to withdraw them later, saying they were made under duress. Defendants regularly resort to plea bargains even when they maintain they are innocent because they do not believe they will have a fair trial and feel they have no choice other than to accept a guilty plea which will lead to a reduced sentence.

Further information on UA: 276/13 Index: MDE 15/5182/2016 Issue Date: 29 November 2016

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Anas Barghouti was arrested by the Israeli army at a military checkpoint north of Bethlehem in the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 15 September 2013. He had been on his way home to Ramallah after a visit to friends and family. At around 7pm Israeli soldiers stopped the car in which he was travelling and arrested him after he said he was a lawyer and presented his Palestinian Bar Association card. The soldiers confiscated his phone and questioned him, then blindfolded and handcuffed him and transferred him to a detention centre in the illegal Israeli settlement of Etzion. He was then taken to Ofer military complex where he was held until his release on bail. Amnesty International considered him a prisoner of conscience at the time because his arrest was based solely on his peaceful work as a human rights defender, representing Palestinians detained by Palestinian security forces. He was first presented to a military court on 16 September when a judge agreed to the military prosecutor’s request to extend his detention without charge until 22 September. On that date, his detention was again extended until 24 September when he was charged. He had a court hearing on 1 October at which his trial was postponed until 9 October and then adjourned again until 23 October, when he was released on bail. After his arrest, the Israeli authorities placed him under a travel ban.

Since he was charged, Anas Barghouti has had to attend a court hearing every three months at Ofer Military Court in the occupied West Bank. Each hearing means a lost day of work for Anas Barghouti, who has his own legal practice in Ramallah, where he represents Palestinians arrested by the Palestinian authorities. It is also a day of uncertainty for him and his family about whether he will be coming home.

Anas Barghouti told Amnesty International at his office in Ramallah on 8 November 2016: “I would be happy if this case ends as it should – that I will not return to prison. That idea, no matter how much you have come to terms with it, is still extremely difficult.” He also hopes that the ban on travel the Israeli authorities placed on him since his arrest will be lifted.

Anas Barghouti also spoke to Amnesty International about the effect his ongoing case has had on him: “The day of the court is a day gone, and it creates a tension within me and with my family. Especially when you’re in the court from 10am-4pm and your phone is taken away from you, so there’s no way for my family to know what is happening. When I have a hearing I make sure I clear my calendar, I make sure I have no work or social commitments. I am a lawyer, but when I go to court, this is nullified. The travel ban also makes me feel as if I am in a big prison – I can neither go inside Israel nor abroad.”

Military trials at Ofer Military Court are frequently postponed when the prosecution has failed to produce their witnesses – who are often other Palestinian prisoners, or members of the Israeli forces. Amnesty International has in the past expressed concern in certain cases that repeated and unjustified delays in trials were themselves a method of punishing Palestinians who were either detained or on bail. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank face unfair trial before an Israeli military court, whose proceedings fall short of international standards for fair trial. Judges and prosecutors are recruited from the Israeli military. Judges are appointed by the Regional Commander on the Military Advocate General’s recommendation and promoted almost exclusively from the ranks of prosecutors. Once appointed, judges have no security of tenure and can be removed by the Regional Commander at any time. Serious doubts have been expressed about their independence and impartiality. Trials are often based on statements from witnesses who have been known to withdraw them later, saying they were made under duress. Defendants regularly resort to plea bargains even when they maintain they are innocent because they do not believe they will have a fair trial and feel they have no choice other than to accept a guilty plea which will lead to a reduced sentence.

Further information on UA: 276/13 Index: MDE 15/5329/2016 Issue Date: 14 December 2016