Jaggi Singh Beaten and Deported from Israel

International Solidarity Movement (ISM)- ISM Activist Abducted And Beaten To Be Deported To Canada At 12:40 AM.

Flight info: Air Canada flight 887 Departs Ben Gurion at 12:40 AM, January 10th Arrives in Toronto at 6:10 AM, January 10th

[Jerusalem] - On January 8, 2003, at 6 PM, Jaggi Singh, Canadian citizen and ISM activist, went to visit a friend in West Jerusalem. When he arrived at the doorstep, he was ambushed, forced into an unmarked vehicle, and taken to the Russian Compound in Jerusalem by three plainclothes Israeli secret service agents.

Jaggi Singh reports having been beaten by the Israelis as they were transporting him to the Russian Compound. An officer by the name of Aaron slapped his face several times and pulled his hair in an attempt to interrogate him. Jaggi Singh's lawyer, Shamai Leibovitch, was not allowed to talk with or visit him at Russian Compound. On January 9, 2003, Jaggi Singh was transferred to Maasiyahu Prison in Ramle.

Jaggi was to be deported to Canada for visa violations. The Canadian Consulate visited him in prison and provided laisse passé documents for his return to Canada. Jaggi is now at Ben Gurion airport waiting for his 12:40 AM flight to Canada.

Jaggi arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on December 14th and was initially refused entry by Israeli officials for `security reasons'. His attorney took his case to court and Jaggi was eventually given a one week visa with the condition that he not enter the occupied territories.

Jaggi is from Montreal, Canada and traveled to the occupied territories to write about the realities of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Jaggi is well known in Canada and abroad for speaking out against injustice in the many forms it takes.

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