Military court Ofer, Tuedday, 14.8.2007, amReporting: Hagit Sh., Rama J.Translated by Eldad K.The full report appears on the Hebrew Web site. Hall 2Lily Ayoub Mohamed Ragila (see report from 13.8.2007)Indictment: manslaughter (later on it becomes clear that this is a very serious case: planning shooting, kidnapping leading to murder). Defense counsel: Advocate Haled El’argh.The trial is conducted by three judges. The witness (# 4), Avi Akiva, is a police interrogator who appears regularly in cases of extension of remand at the Russian Compound. Testifies that he speaks Arabic, but does not read or write it. He relies in his testimony on his memo about the second testimony that was given by the accused. According to him, the defendant has been warned according to the law, understood what he was interrogated about, gave evidence, and signed on every page of this memorandum, which – by the way, was written in Hebrew – and translated verbally for the defendant before he was requested to sign. In the memorandum, the witness asserts, no unusual occurrences were recorded. The defense lawyer asked him, among other things, if the defendant was informed of his right to confer with counsel and the witness replies that at the time there was no obligation to inform the defendant thus. The lawyer: and what if he had requested counsel? Witness: if there was no impediment and he had requested it and a lawyer would have come and declared that he wanted to represent him, we would have acceded to his wish. Judge: is it rare that interrogated prisoners request that a lawyer represent them? Witness: yes, less than one percent asks for a lawyer. Judge: could he have contacted a lawyer? Witness: nobody can make phone calls during the interrogation, because that might impede it. If such a request is made, I transfer same to the head of the group; it is a possibility. The judge decides that verbal testimony should be submitted in writing before 3.9.2007, and the next witnesses would be summoned in September (no date was set).Hall 11. Ihab Ednan Mousa Ta’ah, 17.5 years old2. Azam Haled Yousef Pakiah, 22 y.o. 3. Karim Salim Jaber Hushiyah, 16.5 y.o. ArraignmentCharge: leaving the area without permitLawyer: Advocate Akkram SamaraProsecutor: Tali BlankThe three admitted to the corrected version of the indictment. The prosecutor: (refers in her address to one of the defendants; I did not get which one, apparently to the oldest, but her words applied to all of three of them). There are two items in the corrected version of the indictment: disobeying an order on closure of an area, and leaving the area through the border and vandalizing the separation fence. He climbed the wall and shoved the barbed wire aside. She cites a precedent where the court looked gravely upon offenses of the kind the defendant had committed in the past. If an accused passes through an existing breach or causes damage to the fence, he thereby states that he is willing to cross the lines. It is the right of the State to combat those inhabitants who leave the area without permit; for that reason the fence was built. The defendant chose to disregard the order given by the commander of the area, and not only did he leave, but he damaged the fence. The fact that he chose to cross, knowing that he did not have an entry permit into Israel, shows that he was determined to commit this offense at any cost, and justifies a heavy penalty. Again she cites verdicts as precedents where light sentences might serve as a negative incentive to leave the area without permit. And even more so that in doing so he damaged the fence. In balancing the economical interests of the accused and the interest of protecting the population, this second interest must prevail. The defendants’ past is not clean, and full vigor of the law must be applied. The judge requests at this juncture to know what kind of damage was done to the fence. I did not hear the answer, but the barbed wire was mentioned again. The prosecutor requests six months prison time and a conditional prison term according to the discretion of the court. This verdict expresses the goals of punishment admirably, she said, and should not be compromised. The judge: and what about the other two? The prosecutor: the same punishment for all. Defense: this morning Bashar Fuad Mahmoud Bargouti (case # 4069/07; we were not present at this trial) was sentenced to 91 days of arrest and a 300 NIS fine for using a forged permit; why should my client get a more severe punishment? The three were arrested some 50 meters from the fence, which in this area is not located on the Green Line. There is no proof that the fence was damaged; at best it was pushed aside. The defendants indeed admitted the amended charge, but this just expressed their helplessness.Defense counsel stresses that the accused did not leave the area, that they were arrested within the border; they were not interrogated in Israel. Two of them are very young. She requests that a conditional term be decided upon, and at most 91 days actual prison. The judge invites each of the three to say something on their own behalf, and all express their regret. No date was set for the verdict.Outside the hall I spoke to the father of Ihab Ta’ah. A soldier prodded us all the time to finish the conversation, because the father had to leave the camp, so that I did not manage to ask where they lived. He told me that the Wall divides his land in two, and this year he could not plough his land beyond the fence. There are breaches in the fence, but these youngsters did not cause them. They tried to cross in order to find work. I asked him to call us when he finds outwhen verdict would be passed.4. Assad Muhi Adin Ali ShamiIndictment: conspiring to manslaughterDefense counsel Fadi Kawasma requests a deferral in order to prepare the defendant for giving testimony. The defendant’s brother was present in the hall; he is an resident of Jerusalem and works in Bethlehem for a company that markets vacuum-cleaners. He tells us about the many difficulties that face him in his daily passage through the checkpoint to his work and home again.The next session will take place on 29 Aug.2007.