Police battle road blockers
Photo: Gil Yohanan
High Court slams road blockers
Chief Justice Barak: Road blocking protests something no democratic country should accept
JERUSALEM – Freedom of expression does not constitute a permit to riot, Chief Justice Aharon Barak said Thursday as the High Court of Justice slammed organizers of road blocking protests and ruled they should remain in custody until the end of legal proceedings against them.
"Freedom of expression does not protect the freedom to prevent a woman about to give birth to reach hospital," Barak said. "The freedom to demonstrate does not protect the freedom to stop the country and endanger the safety of individuals and the public."
The Court, who debated the matter in an expanded five-judge panel, accepted the State's appeal against an earlier decision to keep Shai Malka and Ariel Vengover in detention until the end of August only.
The two men are the leaders of the "National Home," the right-wing group behind anti-pullout road blocking protests.
Undermining human rights
In the decision, Justice Barak blasted the two and said they would pose danger if freed.
"This risk exists as long as the disengagement has not yet been executed," he wrote, while rejecting the argument actions by the two defendants constituted a part of their democratic freedom of expression and protest.
In sum, Barak wrote that although the disengagement plan stirred controversy among Israelis, the disagreements must be managed patiently and through understanding.
"Freedom of expression must be accorded to every opinion and view…but at the same time, the public controversy must be managed in the framework of existing tools," he wrote. "(The defendants) use the rhetoric of democracy and human rights, but their actions are those of anarchy and undermining human rights. This is something no democratic country should agree to."
