High Court demands explanation for detention of Darfur refugees

Judges give the State 45 days to explain its handling of Sudanese refugees, previous petition against administrative detention claims not enough is being done
Aviram Zino

The High Court of Justice demanded an explanation as to why the Prevention of Infiltration law was used to arrest Sudanese refugees without them being brought before a judge.

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Without judicial proceedings, the refugees may be held indefinitely under administrative detention.

High Court judges President Dorit Beinish, judge Salim Jubran and judge David Heshin took out a conditional order on the State in which it has 45 days to argue the cause of its conduct.

A petition in the matter of administrative detention was filed last year by a center for foreign workers at Tel Aviv University's refugees' rights division.

In Tuesday's hearing, attorneys Anat Ben-Dor and Yonatan Barman argued that the solution proposed by the State to appoint an advisor on behalf of the defense minister was not sufficient, since he would have no real authority.

They also argued that the ruling stating that the advisor must meet with the prisoners once every 14 days from the day of their arrest was in fact not realized.