Israeli bloggers and the vengeful judges – ongoing detention and chaos in the courtroom
The
bloggers have been in custody for 8 months, and will remain in
custody for the duration of the trial, following Judge Abraham
Heiman’s unprecedented decision in a chaotic courtroom this week.
Gag order was imposed on the entire hearing... The Public Defender’s
Office conduct in this case, as in a previous whistle-blower’s
case, appears deceitful. US DHS involvement is going to become a key
issue in this case.
Tel-Aviv,
October 28 – in a chaotic court hearing on Thursday (October 26),
Judge Abraham Heiman denied request by Defense Counsel for bloggers
Lori Shem-Tov and Moti Leybel and their former attorney, Zvi Zer, to
be released to house arrest. The three have been detained since late
February, an unprecedented case in Israel. Defense Counsel have cited
a long list of murder and organized crime cases, where defendants had
been released to house arrest during trial. The hearing marked
ongoing vengeance of the Israeli judiciary against bloggers, who
protested judicial corruption in the family courts. [i]
Ongoing confinement of the
Defendants in this case appears also aimed at undermining their
ability to defend themselves, since access to court records and
evidence in custody is severely restricted.
Thursday’s
hearing was conducted in a tiny courtroom in the Tel-Aviv District
Court, holding an audience of only a couple of dozens. The Defendants
were brought into the courtroom amid yells by the public, “we love
you”, “be strong”. Judge Heiman entered the courtroom visibly
upset, slamming the door behind him, then leaving, once it turned out
that Shem-Tov’s Counsel Yehonatan Rabinovich had not made it to the
court hearing. Counsel of the other two Defendants proceeded to try
to convince Shem-Tov, in blatant violation of due process, to forgo
her right to have her counsel present.
Next,
yells “Russia” from the audience to the judge, who got more upset
and ordered some people out and entered a note to that effect into
the protocol [minutes].
The
court transcriptionist, dressed in extremely casual manner and
visibly clueless about his job, raised
concerns regarding the validity of the entire hearing as a lawful
court hearing. Conduct of simulated court hearings is a common
phenomenon in the Israeli courts today…
[ii]
Next,
Judge Heiman stated a decision, rendering the entire court hearing
under gag order. It remains unclear: Did he intend that the fact that
the Defendants remain in custody since late February remain a state
secret?
Next,
Heiman started reading his decision. Trying to reason
the danger involved
in releasing the Defendants to house arrest, he quote an offensive
blog post, attributed to the Defendants, where Israeli media was
described, submitting itself to intense anal intercourse with corrupt
judges. Such quote made obvious, what was clear from the outset –
the defamatory
posts, pertaining to judicial corruption, were
held by the judiciary a clear and present
danger to the Israeli regime, and the vengeful judges were
going to act
accordingly. A person in the audience yelled
at the judge, “you are clownish”, and a number of people left
the courtroom in protest.
Following
the hearing, some of Defendants’
supporters staged
a spontaneous protest outside the court, some dressed in
concentration camp outfits...
As
expected, none
of the matter was reported by Israeli media.
In
an October 10 hearing, the Prosecution
staunchly opposed release of the
Defendants to house arrest. The
prosecution argued at length -
about 1.5 hours. Among the arguments: "negative
feelings toward
the authorities", "they
are active in the social sphere, and influence others", "they
have followers, who show up for court hearings, and believe that the
Defendants are innocent, and that their long detention is abusive".
The Prosecution also repeatedly referred to the Defendants'
lawful public space, street protests against judicial corruption as
some kind of serious crime, and repeatedly stressed the danger posed
by the Internet...
In
an October 09 visit with Shem-Tov in jail, she again complained that
she had been denied access to any records of the evidence against
her, as well any access to court records in her own court file.
During
the September 10 hearing, Shem-Tov Public Defender Rabinovich stated
that his efforts to deliver to Shem-Tov court records and
investigation materials had been continuously scuttled by the Israel
Prison Service. He further stated that he despaired of such
attempts, and that the Public Defender’s Office had appointed
Attorney Roy Lavi to handle the issue of Defendant Shem-Tov’s
access to records.
In
contrast, during an October 09 visit to Shem-Tov in jail, she stated
that Attorney Lavi had resigned, due to “conflicts of interest”,
and would not handle the matter.
Outside
the October 10 court hearing, Counsel Rabinovich contradicted
Shem-Tov’s claims and also contradicted his own previous statements
on the record. Rabinovich newer version was that the real problem was
that the Public Defender’s office had failed to issue an
appointment for Attorney Roy Lavi in this case…
Conditions,
where the Defendant is denied access to evidence and the Public
Defender’s office engages in deceitful conduct are remarkably
similar to conduct that was previously observed in the criminal
prosecution of Tax Authority Rafi Rotem. [iii]
In
the aftermath, attempt was made to inspect the Public Defenders’
Book, to establish whether Lavi was or was not appointed. The Public
Defenders’ Book is a public record by Israeli law. However, as was
the case during the prosecution of whistle-blower Rafi Rotem, the
Public Defender’s Office denied access to inspect the Book.
Figure. State of Israel v Shem-Tov et al ( 17-04-14615) in the Tel-Aviv District Court – September 10, 2010 protocol [minutes], where Public Defender Yehontan Rabinovich stated on the record that Attorney Roy Lavi was appointed by the Public Defender’s Office to handle the denial of Defendant’s Shem-Tov to court records and investigation materials. The hearing was conducted in open court. However, the protocol record is falsely watermarked “Closed Doors”. Such perversion of the protocol records is routine in this case, resulting in total failure of media to cover the case. The protocol record also bears a fake “True Copy of the original” stamp.
_____
Most
of the hearings in this case were conducted in open court. However,
the judges routinely place a false watermark “Closed Doors” on
the hearings protocols. As a result, none of the case is reported by
Israeli media, except for slanted reports, planted by the
Prosecution. For example, on October 15, and amended indictment was
filed, adding scores of new indictment articles. A perverted copy of
the amended indictment was released to media. Media reported the
new charges. [iv]
Figure.
State of Israel v Shem-Tov
et al ( 17-04-14615) in
the Tel-Aviv District Court - “Attorney
General’s Consent for Filing the Indictment” from the original
indictment. The section was deleted from the perverted records of
both the original indictment and the amended indictment that were
released to media.
_____
However,
the perverted copy of the amended indictment, which was released to
media, deleted, as was the case in the original indictment record,
the special “Consent by the Attorney General for Filing an
Indictment”. Such consent was required by Israeli law, since the
indictment used extreme articles of the Penal Code, akin to
incitement. For some reason, the Attorney General and the Prosecution
appear uninterested that his direct involvement in this indictment to
be published…
Of
note, media report of the amended indictment falsely stated, “all
hearings in this case are conducted behind closed doors” -
apparently
an excuse for failing to report any of this extremely abusive case.
Perversion
of court process and
court records
in the
prosecution of whistle-blowers and protest activists has been
repeatedly documented in recent years. Of note, Israeli
social
protest is now primarily directed against corruption of the justice
and law enforcement system itself. [v]
It
is already clear that the issue of admissibility of evidence in
the bloggers’ case,
which
was
obtained through US DHS, is going to become a key issue. [vi]
Such
evidence pertains to IP addresses, administrative codes, and
ownership of blogs
maintained by Wordpress.
LINKS
i
2017-10-04 Israel: The bloggers and the vengeful judges |
OpEdNews.com
ii
2017-07-01 Widespread corruption of the Israeli courts alleged in
reports filed with UN Human Rights Council |
OpEdNews.com
iii
2014-09-29 ISRAEL: Attorneys from a non-existent law-firm appeared
as Public Defenders for whistle-blower Rafi Rotem… | OpEdNews.com
iv
2017-10-25 Indictment: Shem-Tov exposed the names of complainants in
sex crimes |News1
The
amended indictment against Lori Shem-Tov, Moti Leybel and Zvi Zer
also includes charges of contempt of the court and violation of the
privacy of six family court judges
v
2017-05-21
Police Violence, Closed Doors Hearings in Israeli Protest Against
Corrupt AG (Videos) |
OpEdNews.com
2017-05-11
Israeli Supreme Court Justice Uri Shoham fakes an arrest warrant on
whistle-blower Shuki Mishol |
OpEdNews.com
2017-05-05
Court observers scuttle Israeli judge's attempt to hold a closed
doors hearing in protesters' criminal prosecution |
OpEdNews.com
2017-03-18
[Video] The remedy for Israeli judicial corruption is repression of
social protest |
OpEdNews.com
https://www.opednews.com/articles/Video-The-remedy-for-Isr-by-Joseph-Zernik-Children-170317-666.html
2015-06-08
Explosive corruption of the Israeli justice system is cured by gag
orders… |
OpEdNews.com
vi
16-06-20 US DHS assists in suppression of anti-corruption dissent in
Israel |
OpEdNews.com
