For those of you who were curious, here's an update on the case of Khader Shaheen (the Palestinian journalist accused of conspiring with Iran during the recent operation in Gaza).
I attended Shaheen's trial on May 21st with my friend Sol. Sol speaks English, Hebrew and Spanish so she translated the trial (which was conducted in Hebrew) as best she could. It was relatively basic, both the defense and the prosecutor were given time to make their point and a panel of Judges assessed the information given to them. The main argument of the defense was that Shaheen had provided damaging information to Iran and that even though nothing resulted, he committed the infraction nonetheless. Additionally, even if Shaheen hadn't perceived the information provided as threatening, the defense claimed that it was indeed threatening information and that naiveté was not a justification.
The prosecution argued primarily that Shaheen was not conspiring in any way with Iran, only that his company works with TV channels in other countries including Iran. Additionally, the information given to the Iranian reporters was not detrimental to Israel and hence, nothing resulted from the information supplied.
The court was dismissed and a date was set to resume trial on June 14th. Following the trial that was set for Sunday June 14th, Khader Shaheen and his producer Muhammad Sarhan were sentenced to two months in jail accompanied by a suspended six-month term for violating the military censorship legislation during Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza strip in December and January.
The sentence for these two individuals is light, especially considering the seriousness of the allegations. However, appreciation for leniency is lost when considering that they are reaping consequences (however small) for a crime of which they are most likely innocent. It would appear that the Israeli justice system sought to prove a point and to set an example above anything else.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (one of the organizations PHRMG notified about the situation) wrote an article on the case. If you want to read more, here is the link:
http://cpj.org/2009/06/israel-sentences-two-to-prison-terms-for-censorshi.php
I attended Shaheen's trial on May 21st with my friend Sol. Sol speaks English, Hebrew and Spanish so she translated the trial (which was conducted in Hebrew) as best she could. It was relatively basic, both the defense and the prosecutor were given time to make their point and a panel of Judges assessed the information given to them. The main argument of the defense was that Shaheen had provided damaging information to Iran and that even though nothing resulted, he committed the infraction nonetheless. Additionally, even if Shaheen hadn't perceived the information provided as threatening, the defense claimed that it was indeed threatening information and that naiveté was not a justification.
The prosecution argued primarily that Shaheen was not conspiring in any way with Iran, only that his company works with TV channels in other countries including Iran. Additionally, the information given to the Iranian reporters was not detrimental to Israel and hence, nothing resulted from the information supplied.
The court was dismissed and a date was set to resume trial on June 14th. Following the trial that was set for Sunday June 14th, Khader Shaheen and his producer Muhammad Sarhan were sentenced to two months in jail accompanied by a suspended six-month term for violating the military censorship legislation during Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza strip in December and January.
The sentence for these two individuals is light, especially considering the seriousness of the allegations. However, appreciation for leniency is lost when considering that they are reaping consequences (however small) for a crime of which they are most likely innocent. It would appear that the Israeli justice system sought to prove a point and to set an example above anything else.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (one of the organizations PHRMG notified about the situation) wrote an article on the case. If you want to read more, here is the link:
http://cpj.org/2009/06/israel-sentences-two-to-prison-terms-for-censorshi.php
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