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03 February 2011 By Stephen
Lendman Following former prime minister
Ariel Sharon's dictum that, "This is our land, and
we'll settle it and build on it in order to prevent
the creation of a Palestinian state," Palestinians
have been ruthlessly persecuted, imprisoned, or
slaughtered in gross violation of international laws. Ameer Makhoul is one of many
thousands of victims, vilified for being Muslims in a
Jewish state. An Israeli citizen, human rights
activist, and head of the internationally recognized
Ittijah NGO for Palestinian empowerment, he also
chairs the Public Committee for the Defence of
Political Prisoners within the Arab Higher Monitoring
Committee in Israel. Besides championing human rights,
he also supports the global BDS movement, what many
believe is perhaps the most effective nonviolent
tactic against Israeli lawlessness, and another reason
for his targeting. In May 2010, he was arrested on
spurious charges of spying for Hezbollah, Israel's way
to silence a respected Palestinian. At the time,
attorney Hussein Abu Hasin said accusations were so
vague and wide-ranging that emails, Internet chats or
phone conversations with anyone about anything could
be used as a pretext to prosecute for communicating
with a "state enemy," whether or not true and
regardless of the right to speak freely with anyone. On May 6, his ordeal began when
about 20 Israeli police and security forces arrested
him at 3:10AM, ransacked his apartment, confiscated
his computers, cell phones, various documents, maps,
and other possessions. At the same time, his Haifa
office was raided for other potentially
"incriminating" evidence, a Shin Bet warrant saying
only that "secret information" justified it for
"security reasons," when, in fact, none whatsoever
existed. Makhoul was detained
incommunicado at Petah Tikva for interrogation. Under
an initial gag order, the Israeli media couldn't write
or discuss anything about his case. He endured 12 days of brutal
interrogation, including torture and sleep
deprivation. After three weeks, he was charged with
espionage, helping an enemy (Hezbollah) in time of
war, contact with a foreign agent, and other spurious
charges, all of which he denied. On June 14, prosecutors claimed
"secret evidence" against him, withheld from his
lawyers for "security reasons." In addition, all
attorney conversations were wiretapped, and despite
requesting medical help from the Association of
Physicians for Human Rights, it was repeatedly
denied. He remained imprisoned, a
Committee for the Defense of Ameer Makhoul established
on September 8 to defend him. Comprised of dozens of
Jewish and Arab figures, it took collective
responsibility because: -- his arrest signified what he
represents, not just himself, and it was done to warn
other activist Israeli Arabs; and -- charges against him were
entirely spurious, his targeting to silence a
respected, powerful, effective political voice for all
Arab Israeli citizens. On September 16, he was charged
in Haifa District Court, even though Israeli
prosecutors said his home and office computers, cell
phones, other possessions, and transcripts of about
30,000 wiretapped phone conversations revealed no
evidence of espionage. On January 30, Haaretz writer
Jack Khoury headlined, "Israeli Arab who spied for
Hezbollah jailed for nine years," saying: His "lawyers struck a plea
bargain with the prosecution in October 2010, in which
they asked for a reduced sentence of seven years,
while the prosecution (wanted) 10....the maximum
sentence for the charges against him." The ruling accused him of
supplying "intelligence to a Hezbollah agent on Shin
Bet installations in the Haifa region and on Mossad
offices in the center of the country. (Also, that he
attempted) to pass on information about a military
base and sought details about the residence of Shin
Bet chief Yuval Diskin." His fellow activist Omar Saeed
earlier struck a plea bargain in August, under which
he was charged with "working for an illegal
organization, a crime that carries a punishment of
several months' jail-time." On January 30, Amnesty
International (AI) headlined, "Palestinian Human
Rights Activist Jailed in Israel," saying: Makhoul's "jailing is a very
disturbing development and we will be studying the
details of the sentencing as soon as we can. (He's)
well known for his human rights activism on behalf of
Palestinians in Israel and those living under Israeli
occupation. We fear that this may be the underlying
reason for his imprisonment." Philip Luther, AI's Middle East
and North Africa deputy director, expressed concern
that he was tortured and abused after his May 6
arrest, was isolated for 12 days, had no contact with
counsel, and a media gag order prevented discussion of
his case. Moreover, under Israeli law, people can be
charged with espionage even if information passed on
is publicly known or if no harm was intended or
caused. In addition, his alleged
confession was extracted by torture, meaning none of
it is credible or admissible. Also, what he allegedly
passed on was publicly known. He, in fact, was
targeted for his activism and prominence, not any
alleged crimes. His sentencing came at a time Israel
is increasingly targeting human rights activists,
accused by some MKs of being "anti-Israeli" and
unpatriotic because of their support for Palestinian
justice. Makhoul heroically did it. He'll now serve
nine years in Israel's gulag, perhaps brutalized until
released after which he vowed to continue public
activism. A previous article discussed him
in detail, accessed through the following site: http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/10/israels-persecution-of-ameer-makhoul.html Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished
guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the
Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central
time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/. |
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