Israeli Activist Imprisoned For Protest
Byrnzie
Posts: 21,037
Good to see that some Israeli's are standing up to the lying, murdering cocksuckers in their government. And the fact that they've resorted to imprisoning him for taking part in a protest against the illegal blockade just shows the Israeli leadership feel genuinely threatened. Hopefully more and more Israeli citizens will now join these demonstrations.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/de ... ation-gaza
Israeli activist imprisoned for protest against Gaza blockade
Jonathan Pollak handed three-month term after taking part in Tel Aviv protest cycle ride in January 2008
* Ana Carbajosa in Jerusalem
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 27 December 2010
The prominent Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak was todaysentenced to three months in prison by a Tel Aviv court for taking part in a bicycle demonstration against the blockade of Gaza almost three years ago.
Human rights activists condemned the prison term, saying it was an unusually harsh punishment for a charge that usually results in a non-custodial sentence.
Pollak, 28, is one of the founders of a leftwing Israeli group called Anarchists against the Wall, which demonstrates with Palestinian activists in the occupied territories.
In January 2008, he participated, along with 30 others, in a "critical mass bicycle ride" through Tel Aviv. During the demonstration, police arrested Pollak but allowed the rest of the activists to continue with the protest, his lawyer said.
Pollak remained defiant after sentencing. "I have no doubt that what we did was right and, if anything, not sufficient considering what is being done in our name," he said in a telephone interview. "If I have to go to prison to resist the occupation, I will do it gladly."
Pollak described his sentence as "part of the general deterioration in the right to dissent from the general Israeli discourse regarding the occupation".
His lawyer, Gaby Lasky, who defends many activists arrested while protesting against Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank, said the sentence was unusual.
"It is not common that someone found guilty of illegal assembly will be sent to prison," said Lasky, who has worked in this field for eight years.
"We are in the midst of a high wave of detentions of activists," she added. "The criminalisation of leftwing demonstrations is a policy these days".
An official at the court of first instance in Tel Aviv, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was extremely rare for judges to hand down a jail sentence in an illegal assembly case.
The official pointed out, however, that Pollak had three previous convictions, including one for "distraction of order and vandalism", and a three-month suspended sentence for demonstrating against the West Bank separation barrier.
The Israeli police and the ministry of justice declined to comment.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel criticised the sentence. "Placing Pollak behind bars because of his participation in the critical mass bike ride is an extreme punishment and an unusually harsh measurement," Dan Yakir, the organisation's chief legal adviser, said in a statement.
"The entire affair raises suspicion that Pollak was personally targeted because of his views in an attempt to silence him and prevent him from partaking in various acts of protest."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/de ... ation-gaza
Israeli activist imprisoned for protest against Gaza blockade
Jonathan Pollak handed three-month term after taking part in Tel Aviv protest cycle ride in January 2008
* Ana Carbajosa in Jerusalem
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 27 December 2010
The prominent Israeli activist Jonathan Pollak was todaysentenced to three months in prison by a Tel Aviv court for taking part in a bicycle demonstration against the blockade of Gaza almost three years ago.
Human rights activists condemned the prison term, saying it was an unusually harsh punishment for a charge that usually results in a non-custodial sentence.
Pollak, 28, is one of the founders of a leftwing Israeli group called Anarchists against the Wall, which demonstrates with Palestinian activists in the occupied territories.
In January 2008, he participated, along with 30 others, in a "critical mass bicycle ride" through Tel Aviv. During the demonstration, police arrested Pollak but allowed the rest of the activists to continue with the protest, his lawyer said.
Pollak remained defiant after sentencing. "I have no doubt that what we did was right and, if anything, not sufficient considering what is being done in our name," he said in a telephone interview. "If I have to go to prison to resist the occupation, I will do it gladly."
Pollak described his sentence as "part of the general deterioration in the right to dissent from the general Israeli discourse regarding the occupation".
His lawyer, Gaby Lasky, who defends many activists arrested while protesting against Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank, said the sentence was unusual.
"It is not common that someone found guilty of illegal assembly will be sent to prison," said Lasky, who has worked in this field for eight years.
"We are in the midst of a high wave of detentions of activists," she added. "The criminalisation of leftwing demonstrations is a policy these days".
An official at the court of first instance in Tel Aviv, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was extremely rare for judges to hand down a jail sentence in an illegal assembly case.
The official pointed out, however, that Pollak had three previous convictions, including one for "distraction of order and vandalism", and a three-month suspended sentence for demonstrating against the West Bank separation barrier.
The Israeli police and the ministry of justice declined to comment.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel criticised the sentence. "Placing Pollak behind bars because of his participation in the critical mass bike ride is an extreme punishment and an unusually harsh measurement," Dan Yakir, the organisation's chief legal adviser, said in a statement.
"The entire affair raises suspicion that Pollak was personally targeted because of his views in an attempt to silence him and prevent him from partaking in various acts of protest."
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