Channels

IDF tank in Gaza
Photo: AP

Indictment: Iranian network employees fed enemy sensitive information

Journalist, producer who breached military censor's protocol by reporting IDF movements near Gaza border face charges of divulging confidential information

Two east Jerusalem employees of a production company that services various media outlets worldwide, including one based in Iran, were indicted Tuesday for providing the enemy with sensitive and confidential information.

 

Kadir Shahin, a reporter with Iranian television station Alalam, and producer Muhammad Sarhan were indicted in the Jerusalem District Court for allegedly reporting that IDF forces entered the Gaza Strip before the information was cleared for publication.

 

According to the indictment, the two were reporting from the Israeli side of the Gaza border when they spotted IDF forces gearing up for the ground incursion into the Strip.

 

Although aware of the fact that the forces' movements were under embargo and were not cleared for publication by the IDF censor, the two began a live broadcast detailing the troops' moves.

 

The broadcast, said the prosecution, included an enumerate report of the forces and their vehicles; information which they knew could easily find its way to viewers in Gaza, including Hamas members.

 

The prosecution also argued that Shahin and Sarhan knew they were dealing with sensitive information which could seriously compromise the success of the ground incursion, while increasing the risk to IDF soldiers.

 

The State further asked the court to remand the two pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings against them. The prosecution also claimed that while both are residents of Israel, their offices are based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, thereby heightening the risk that they would try to escape if released.

 

Muhammad Sarhan has a prior criminal record: In 1999 he was convicted of reckless endangerment and rioting.

 

"These are two journalists who were just doing their job," said Attorney David Deri, for the defendants. "Even if they broke the censor's protocol, they cannot be indicted for such grave offenses."

 


פרסום ראשון: 01.13.09, 17:04
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment