Russian Compound, Jerusalem - Danger to Regional Security, Remand Extension

Translation: Diana Rubanenko

Russian Compound 

Judge:  Col. Dahan

Police investigator: Moshe Levy

Defence Attorney: Attorney Maamoun Hashim

 There are three cases in the docket.

Wassim Nadal Suleiman Asaid – ID 850474669,resident of Hebron 

The police seek a remand extension of 12 days. The suspect was arrested on 9.11.11. This is his second remand extension. 

The charges: activity against regional security, membership in a hostile organization, conspiring to commit a crime. 

In his opening statement, the police investigator recites familiar sentences …it transpires from the investigation material that the interrogation of the suspect is at its peak… 

Defence Attorney Hashim does not take this sentence as a given, and in the three charges in which he represents the detainee, he asks stringent questions, and persistently asks the police investigator, who consistently gives the same answer: “I refer you to the confidential report; sum up, Maamoun, you’ve already asked that question...”. 

Justice Dahan attempted to add information that didn’t really add anything. 

As a result of what he learned from the discussion between the parties, Justice Dahan requested that it be noted in the minutes that he requests the various relevant factors to allow the detainee to meet his attorney before his remand is extended - so that the attorney can learn more about the state of the investigation of the detainee whom he represents, 

The meeting will be held before the remand extension hearings. It will contribute to the deliberations over the extension, and will be beneficial in the sense that the attorney will ask the investigator fewer questions and can get relevant information from the detainee. 

The investigator explained that this is problematic, if the detainee is under interrogation at the same time, or if he is barred from meeting an attorney, or … 

Another subject that recurred throughout all the deliberations was that the defence attorney wanted to know “How many” interrogation activities are still needed. 

The investigator explained that he was poor in mathematics, and didn’t study statistics at university. He doesn’t like quantifying, because it’s incorrect.

The judge read the file, and on the basis of the grave suspicions he saw there, ordered another 8 days of investigations.

Ahmed Khadr al – Fattah Abu Maria, from Beit Ummar, ID988047163

Arrested on 19.10.11. 

Charges: Activity against regional security, membership in a hostile organization (Hamas).

The police requests another 11 days for the investigation. 

The first two cases are related: Abu Maria passed an explosive belt to Wassim. Both of them denied the charge. 

Decisive questions were answered by… “I refer you to the confidential file”. 

The defence attorney persisted:  how come this is the fourth remand extension, yet still no progress has been made! 

The Judge's decision: another 8 days. 

Iham Said Abed al Jalil Jarba’a – resident of Bitin, near Nablus  

ID 852344373

The investigator requested another 18 days. 

The suspect was arrested on 21.11.11. 

Charges: Activity against regional security, membership in a hostile organization 

This is his first remand extension but it is the second arrest for an offence for which he was already tried and released less than a year ago, due to lack of evidence. 

Now he is being investigated again. He is a student of business administration at the university of Bir Zeit. 

The detainee said that he had undergone interrogations for many hours consecutively, and that he was not allowed enough sleep. 

The judge extended his remand by another 15 days and noted in the minutes that the detainee should receive the appropriate hours of rest.