Harsh punishment for "undermining legitimacy"

Gush Shalom is expressing it's shock about the harsh punishment of the five courageous young Occupation Objectors - on the same day where the army announces that the soldier who shot and severely wounded demonstrator Gil Na'amati will not be prosecuted, or punished in any way.

The rest of this message consist of two parts:

A - Last day in court - report by Adam Keller

B - The Parents Forum letter (which we forward) 1. Short summary of what happened in and around the court 2. Call for action – Fax to Brigadier General Gil Regev 3. Our new site with our new petition and call for action 4. Yesh Gvul demo on January 10th

A - Last day in court - report by Adam Keller

>From Colonel Avi Levi's first words there was no doubt left: "From analyzing the testimonies of the accused we have come to the conclusion that their acts are mainly motivated by the wish to extend opposition against government policy in the Territories and draw a stream of others to follow in their footsteps, either by refusing to enlist or refusing to serve in the territories." Those who heard him last week already knew that there was nothing more heinous and deserving harsh punishment.

"The accused made their refusal public so as to put in question the justification for the army's operations and the morality of taking part in the army. Further, by so doing they undermine the international legitimacy of the state's actions and help hostile nations by providing them with new arguments. (...) The accused refused to be numbered among the ranks of the IDF and share in the burden of defending their country out of their thoughts that the acts of the state and the army immoral and illegal. In this way they are putting their own moral criteria above those of the other soldiers who do serve in the army, above those of their commanders, and even above those of the political echelon which guides the activity of the army. They do these acts both in order to cause a change of heart among the general public but also in order to influence and indeed impose their view upon the political echelon, under the threat that the military system will collapse as a result of the extension of the phenomenon of refusal. (...) Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the law, but some forms of it are still illegal. Making use of it for racist expressions is illegal. Making use of military service - and refusal to it - as part of the freedom of speech is also illegal. (...) Punishment in order to deter others is an old principle in the history of law, but recently it has been called into doubt - as the learned council for the defence has pointed out. Nevertheless, in the case of the offence here under discussion, an offence committed for the specific purpose of drawing the general public into mass law-breaking, when there is a concrete reason to worry about a large number of people, and in that way causing incalculable damage to the army and the state, it is undoubtedly justifiable to mete out a more severe punishment, in order to let the masses at whom the accused directed their call see and understand that the price of refusal is a severe and painful punishment."

After these firm words, Colonel Levi had to reveal that there had been a dissenting judge in the panel of three. "The third judge suggested to his colleagues to content themselves with a punishment of six months. That judge accepted the majority of the arguments of the defence, stating that no punishment whatsoever will deter the accused from persisting with their refusal; that the time of detention which they already spent had been a heavy burden on them. That judge considered the fact that many people avoid military service in "grey" ways without undergoing imprisonment requires some considerations towards the accused, and that it is utterly impermissible to punish them severely in order to deter others. According to that judge, their motives "to change the public opinion" are utterly irrelevant, and the possibility of rehabilitation - which must be a relevant consideration in passing judgment - requires giving a relatively short term so that the accused, basically positive characters full of values, could give a real contribution to the society by the performance of an alternative service as they have undertaken to do. Finally that judge recommended that the Incompatibility Committee discuss their case while they serve their prison term."

The verdict did not name the dissenter. The general impression is that it must have been Major Lirit Interter, not form what she had been saying but from the expressions on her face.

The verdict also revealed the existence of a hard-liner on the judges' panel who had considered the act of the accused to be "a very severe crime which constitutes a manifest and concrete danger to our existence and our survival" to be punished with the maximum of three years, though he did agree to deduct the fourteen months they already served. After that - according to him - they should be kicked out of the army. That would fit with the impression made during the past year by Captain Yaron Dumai, who made a few remarks - all of them utterly hostile.

With the three judges having different positions, the one which won out was the middle position, apparently Levi himself. His proposal: to accept many arguments for severity, but still to take into consideration "that the accused are acting out of belief in the justice of their way, out of mistaken belief that by their acts they are furthering a just cause", and last but not least: "that their illegal acts derived among other things from their being young and inexperienced." (At this point a spontaneous laughter burst out among the audience.) The conclusion: twelve months behind bars, in addition to the already served fourteen.

Colonel Levi sounded a bit apologetic when he asserted that the judges acted "not only as military judges or as military officers but also as citizens in a democratic country, a state of law"; that they also follow the dictates of their conscience and that they have acted as judges guided by the principles of justice and honesty and ... did not try to please the military establishment or the governmental one." So he said - and there it ended. The Five will have to present themselves at Military Prison-6 (Atlit) on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 1pm. Whatever was the mood of Haggai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Tzameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat - or their parents - it was shown only in defiance. "Even if we had been told that we are set free and go home, this would not make me really happy. After all, we started this not for personal comfort but to fight the occupation which is destroying the Israeli and the Palestinian society alike" was the way Haggai Matar expressed it on the stairs of the military court. "We have been punished for speaking out, for wanting not only to have no share in the evil ourselves, but to get rid of the evil. They said in the verdict that we are undermining the legitimacy of what the government and the army are doing. That's absolutely true, and that's what we intend to continue doing." And Adam Maor on the prime time evening news: "The army is afraid of our ideals. Ideals of peace and freedom are a threat to generals."

B - The Parents Forum letter ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "snehab3" Date sent: Sun, 04 Jan 2004 22:33:58 -0000 Subject: The 5 were sentenced to another year in jail

The Parents Forum

January 4th 2004

In this letter you will find: 1. Short summary of what happened in court on January 4th, 2004. 2. Call for action – Fax to Brigadier General Gil Regev 3. Our new site with our new petition and call for action http://www.refuz.org.il 4. Yesh Gvul demo on January 10th

The Central District Military Court of the Israel Defence Forces sentenced the five refusenicks, Noam Bahat, Hagai Matar, Adam Maor, Shimri Tsameret and Matan Kaminer to one year in jail for refusing to join the occupation army.

The court declared that the actions of the five put a question mark over the justice and the morality of the army's actions and challenge the legitimacy of the state's behavior. In an impromptu press conference attended by tens of journalists, the refusenicks declared, that this was indeed their intention and that they are proud of their actions and that they will continue to challenge the occupation until it ends.

Today's sentence is actually for a second year of imprisonment, since the five have already been under detention for approximately a year. The court recommended that, after the year, the army consider their discharge, but the prosecutor stated that after a year the IDF will demand that they be mobilized or face additional jail time.

The sentence was read out before a jam-packed courtroom filled with families of the defendants, supporters and representatives of the media. A crowd of more than a hundred composed of mainly young people crowded the entrance to the court building and greeted the refusenicks with cheers of support and encouragement.

This battle is very far from being over…..

We need your urgent help. Write to Brigadier General Gil Regev. He has the authority to allow or disallow the carrying out of the sentence. Regev's fax number is +972 3 569 2933. Below is a sample letter you can download print sign and fax. ==================== To: Brigadier General Gil Regev Head of the Manpower Department, I.D.F. Hakirya Tel Aviv M.P. 02919 I.D.F

Dear Sir, I was appalled to hear about the draconian sentence that was meted out to the five conscientious objectors, Adam, Noam, Haggai, Matan, and Shimri.

These young men have been sentenced to a year in military prison in addition to already having been imprisoned for over a year. In the past 30 years, no country priding itself as a democracy has handed out such a severe punishment to conscientious objectors.

These 5 CO's were found to be guilty for (daring to declare) their opposition to Israel's policy of occupation in the territories. The decision to incur upon them such a harsh sentence is politically motivated and therefore unjustifiable. In the past, you, yourself, have spoken out on the need for a framework to allow civilian service for young Israeli citizens. THIS IS ALL THAT THESE YOUNG MEN ARE REQUESTING.

In your hands lies the authority to allow or disallow the carrying out of the sentence. I ask you to nullify the decision of the military court and thereby prevent this gross miscarriage of justice.

undersigned

5 COs jailed to deter a generation of conscripts to the Israeli Army.

On 4 January, 2004, for their refusal to serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), 5 conscripted Conscientious Objectors were sentenced to a year in prison. The sentence is, in effect, an unlimited one as the prosecution intend to jail them till they agree to serve. That's the price they will pay for refusing to be part of the brutal occupation.

The 5 COs are being punished because of their convictions - the severity of the punishment reflects the Israeli government's fear of those convictions. The Government needs programmed soldiers - its policy is to intimidate all conscripts by jailing these COs until they break.

We will not let this happen !! Sign the Petition for the immediate release of the 5 conscientious objectors at www.refuz.org.il .

How many people will it take to convince the Israeli government that intimidation of people with a conscience is unacceptable ... 1,000? 100,000? Or a million?? Whatever it takes we intend to get it! Be part of our campaign!

Signing the petition will not be enough. We need you to open doors in your community - advise us who to approach - in what organization - perhaps using your name as an introduction -- and any other ideas that you have to spread the word. Together we can create "the great moral uprising" we need to get them out.

Send us an email at alexmaor@refuz.org.il the Refusniks Parents' Forum Coordinator.

Join us in http://www.refuz.org.il

CHANGE A HISTORY OF OPPRESSION - FORWARD THIS LETTER TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW

Dear friend,

An Israeli military court has handed down one-year prison sentences on draft-resisters Haggai Matar, Amir Kaminer, Shimri Zameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat, over their refusal to enlist in "the army of occupation". The sentence comes on top of a year and more of pre- trial detention.

A military justice system that has remained indifferent to hundreds of incidents of injury and killing of unarmed Palestinian civilians, now proves its dedication to the rule of law by its savage treatment of five youngsters for the "offence" of remaining true to conscience and refusing to take a hand in the bloody campaign of repression.

WE WILL PROTEST THE SENTENCE BY A SOLIDARITY VIGIL AT THE MILITARY PRISON #6 (ATHLIT) ON SATURDAY JAN. 10. AT 12:30

JOIN US !

We urge our friends and supporters in other countries to join in with solidarity actions !

-- To be among those from all over the world who prepare to welcome Mordechai Vanunu ("the nuclear whistleblower ") upon his release in April (imprisoned since 1986) - contact: freevanunu@mindspring.com; in Israel: Rayna Moss 051-368236

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