Reimprisonment of Shalit Swap Violators Bogged Down in Court

The decision to re-arrest and return to prison dozens of  Palestinians who were set free in the Gilad Shalit deal but have violated the terms of their release is being challenged in court, The Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

In a special Military Court hearing, lawyer Merav Hori argued on behalf of some 60 re-arrested Palestinians that the process has violated their rights by the withholding of evidence on national security grounds, and relying on a standard of evidence less than that for criminal cases.

Moreover, she charged that the state’s motivation in re-arresting those released are unrelated to any alleged violations of their release agreement. “This is all about revenge,” Merav said.

Lt.-Col. Maurice Hirsch, the chief IDF prosecutor for Yehudah and Shomron, countered that standard criminal law concepts do not apply in this case. Whereas in criminal proceedings, defendants’ rights are based on the presumption of innocence, these Palestinians had already been convicted for serious security crimes and sentenced to long prison terms.

The only question before the court, he asserted, was whether or not they had fulfilled  their obligations to the state under their reprieve. Most of the cases are similar to that of Hadar Raadi, who was accused of violating his pardon by joining Hamas and receiving $10,000-$12,000 from them after his release.

This article appeared in print on page 24 of the July 16th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.