Camp Ofer, 4 June 2007.Observers: Chava B., Nora O., Tova S. (reporting)Translation: Eldad K.We arrived at Camp Ofer at 10:00. A large number of people is waiting outside. Today Traffic Court is not in session. At Ofer they decided that today no relatives could be present in the courtroom during proceedings. This clean-up action is problematic, since the families now have to wait in the sun-drenched courtyard outside, where the waiting can be very long. Chairs were taken from the courtroom and set along the wall, which the Palestinians usually are forbidden to approach, because it borders on the path the defendants have to take. Today apparently this is not dangerous. Many are waiting in this outer court.We examined the lists of trials in the several courtrooms and we found out that in room 4 46 extensions of arrest were scheduled. No proceedings had started in the room where we were until 10:30. In the other rooms the situation was similar. In room 1 everyone waited and waited and waited …Room 23 JudgesMilitary prosecutor: Sagi Ashkenazi.Case #1647/07Yusef Halil Ahmed Tarda (from Hebron) Accused of membership and activityDefense counsel: Avi Bar-AmReminder. The defendant is present but the lawyer did not arrive. The judge advises the defendant to defer the trial because of the absence of his lawyer. The defendant is hesitant, but in the end agrees to a deferment until 8 July 2007. Around 11:00, in the middle of another procedure, the lawyer appeared and explained to the judge that he thought there were many cases before his. The judge addressed while the lawyer Osama Uda is speaking, and suggests hearing Tarda’s case after the break.Case #1710/05Amin Ahmad Jamil AshkiratCharge: ManslaughterTwo judges join the procedures. A policewoman ushered in three relatives of the defendant and then discovered that she had one too many. She tried to shoo one out while proclaiming loudly that ‘one cannot trust them’. The judge intervened and convinced her not to expel the third one. Then it became apparent that some file was missing. The judge sent a soldier to get it from his chambers. The relatives were happy to make use of these extra 10 minutes of waiting in pleasant conversation with the accused. The lawyer Uda continued with his address: the main points centered on showing the judges the gap between the words in Arabic and what was translated into Hebrew, especially the words of one of the accusers. “I request of the court to pay special attention to the word used by Jamil when he said in Arabic “Tchinhin”, the meaning of which is of great importance and different from the expression in Hebrew”. (In Hebrew: ‘to shoot in the head’ – In Arabic: ‘to shoot in his direction’). Amin Ashkirat does not admit that he took part in the shooting attributed to him. According to the lawyer he was framed. The address was long. A tape of a reconstruction was mentioned. (Again the problem of deficient translation is prominent and causes misunderstandings). Verdict will be handed down on 16 July 2007.Case #1098/06Riak Ragach Na’asanLawyer Bader AgbariyaThe proceedings started without translation. The lawyer asked to bring a witness by the name of Yaron, in order to question him about three documents in Arabic that were not correctly presented (again, language problems?) The judge tried to convince him not to bring the witness, but he insisted, and the other judge agreed and requested that the prosecution contact the witness and notify him of the subpoena. The prosecution requests to notify the court if for some reason the witness cannot appear. The next hearing is on 7 March 2007.