Mohammad Barakeh
Photo: Ido Erez
Police question MK Barakeh
Northern District Police summons Hadash chairman for interrogation on suspicion of hindering a police officer, insulting an officer of the law; Barakeh slams decision as political, provocative
Hadash Chairman Mohammad Barakeh was summoned to the Northern District Police headquarters on Thursday, in connection with hindering a police officer in the line of duty and insulting an officer of the law.
The alleged incident took place about 18 month ago in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth, during Labor Chairman Ehud Barak's visit to the city.
Barak was attending a conference meant to thank his Arab-sector supporters for electing him head of his party. Barakeh, along with other Hadash members and dozens of relatives of the men killed during the October Riots of 2000, was demonstrating outside the meeting.
Barakeh arriving at police headquarters (Photo: Gil Eliyahu)
Police officers wishing to disperse the rally attempted to detain Hadash Secretary-General Ayman Auda. "I yelled at the police officer and told him what he was doing was irresponsible," said Barakeh shortly after the incident; but the police version of the events differs.
"The Knesset member attempted to stop the officer from performing an arrest and shouted at him 'you idiot, shut up,'" said Northern District Superintendent Aharon Galor.
Dozens of people gathered outside the police headquarters at the time of Barakeh's interrogation, including Head of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah. Barakeh himself said the allegations against him coincide with "a long line of provocative interrogations."
"This is a politically motivated, deliberate and provocative interrogation meant to stop me from doing my job. They are trying to intimidate me and my voting public. The police are not maintaining public order in this case, but are the instrument of obscure politics," he said.
The police refuted the allegations, saying that "we cannot simply ignore cases in which people who are performing duties defined by law find themselves insulted by a Knesset member, who is supposed to defend the law."
Upon leaving the police headquarters, Barakeh added: "The facts in this case are flimsy and very far from reality. If anyone should be interrogated for real crimes and not for make-believe ones it is Ehud Barak, against whom we were demonstrating."
Barakeh is scheduled to appear before Attorney General Menachem Mazuz in April, for a judiciary hearing regarding a pending indictment against him in charges of disturbances during protest demonstrations in recent years.
