Refusnik left in underwear, only
Omri Evron won't wear IDF uniform, so was jailed in his underwear. Wardens refuse to let him wear civilian pants arguing he may use zipper to commit suicide
When army refusnik Omri Evron protested wearing an IDF uniform, he probably did not guess that his ideological refusal would soon become a naked truth. For three days now Evron has been held in isolation in Tzrifin prison, wearing only his underwear.
Evron, 19, from Tel Aviv, was supposed to start his army service on Sunday. Members of the “New Profile” movement, which supports IDF refusniks, protested outside of the recruitment office in a show of solidarity. The night before, Evron himself was demonstrating with dozens of his friends opposite the home of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert under the slogan “We refuse to serve the occupation.”
Protesting on eve of induction (Photo: Activestills)
As soon as he was inducted, Evron was sentenced to 14 days detention for his refusal to serve in the army. In a letter of refusal he sent on the eve of his recruitment, Evron wrote: “I, Omri Evron, refuse to join the army out of loyalty to the moral principles I believe in. My refusal is a protest of the continued military occupation of the Palestinian people, an occupation which fans the hatred and terror between our two peoples. I refuse to join the cruel war over control of the occupied territories to guard settlements and the 'Whole land of Israel' ideology.
His friends and family knew about his sentence but had no idea in which conditions he was being held. New Profile said: "As part of his refusal to serve in the army, he refuses to wear a uniform and obey orders. He was therefore placed in solitary confinement in an attempt to break him and threaten him. The army forbade him to continue wearing his pants under the pretext that they pose a threat and Omri was left in his underwear."
'Pants with zipper not allowed'
Having unsuccessfully tried to call his lawyer, Omri called his mother Nurit. "Omri is a very stubborn man who stands by his words. He said he refused to wear a uniform in jail and asked wardens to be allowed to wear the pants he brought from home.
He was put in solitary confinement as a result. His pants had a zipper and they told him he couldn't wear them. That's abuse. They left him in his underwear for three days. They allowed him to leave his cell to a patio only in his underwear," she said.
His mother rejected the army's claims that he wasn't allowed to wear his pants for fear that he might use the zipper to commit suicide, charging that the move was meant to apply psychological pressure on her son, whom she claimed was threatened with a prolonged sentence.
Evron was not allowed access to books, his mother said, with wardens insisting that he may only have a copy of the Torah.
Refusnik Lior Vilnich will be joining Evron on Wednesday, the day of his recruitment.
