Ohana: Order effective immediately
צילום: מאיר פרטוש
Palestinian witnesses won't be driven like detainees
Rights groups turn to IDF, request that Palestinians testifying in Israeli courts not be transported in vehicles intended for prisoners. Military police chief: Respect rights, dignity of witnesses
The head of the Military Police, Brigadier-General Meir Ohana, announced Thursday that Palestinians being taken to testify in Israeli courts must no longer be driven in vehicles intended for prisoner transportation.
The decision comes following an appeal submitted by rights organizations B'Tselem and Yesh Din, in which it was claimed that the current method of transporting Palestinian witnesses causes great injustice. The letter described various cases in which witnesses had been put in the back of a vehicle whose windows were blackened, as if they were detainees.
"The witnesses were transported under conditions usually reserved for dangerous criminals, not for citizens fulfilling their duty," they wrote to Ohana. The writers added that this attitude towards the witnesses caused some Palestinians to refuse to testify in Israeli courts, a situation which could harm the justice system.
Ohana investigated the issue, and decided that from now on Palestinian witnesses would no longer be driven in vehicles intended for prisoners, and instructed that other vehicles be designated for this purpose.
In his reply to the appeal, Ohana added, "I also instructed officers to once again impress upon their subordinates the importance of respecting the rights and dignity of witnesses, who are fulfilling an important role."
