Another Palestinian Gandhi convicted of 'incitement'

[freepalestine]

Another Palestinian Gandhi convicted of 'incitement'

http://imemc.org/graphics/date.gif Wednesday August 25, 2010 17:52http://imemc.org/graphics/person.gif by Clementina Black http://imemc.org/graphics/report.gif (http://imemc.org/report_posts?subject=Report post: Story 59329 with title: Another Palestinian Gandhi convicted of 'incitement'&message=Report post: Story 59329 with title: Another Palestinian Gandhi convicted of 'incitement'%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.imemc.org%2Findex. php%3Fobj_id%3D53%26story_id%3D59329%26%0A%0AEnter +your+reason+here+-+please+do+not+remove+the+above+link+as+it+will+al low+an+editor+to+easily+remove+the+offending+conte nt)


A great man, Abdullah Abu Rahmah, has just been convicted of the most ridiculous and bogus charges by an Israeli court (incitement) for being one of the most effective non-violent organizers in the West Bank. His village of Bil'in, and their struggle to save their land from being cut in half by the Israeli Wall, has won international support and even Israeli court rulings against the Wall route, largely due to his organizing.http://imemc.org/attachments/aug2010/abdullahaburahmah_1.png
Abdullah Abu Rahmah (photo by pulse media)

He has paid a heavy price for his commitment to non-violence - his nephew Bassem was killed last year when Israeli troops fired a high-velocity tear gas canister directly at his chest. His children, brothers, nephews have been beaten, jailed, harassed and one even paralyzed for life by a rubber-coated steel bullet fired by Israeli troops at the non-violent weekly demonstration in Bil'in. And now, Abu Rahmah himself is facing a two-year sentence for organizing the most consistent and engaged non-violent campaign that Palestine has seen since the ID-throwing and tax resistance in Beit Sahour in the late 80s.

Please, find a way to support Abdullah - spread the word, take action, make a call, send a letter - go to this site to take action:
http://www.popularstruggle.org/freeabdallah#do

It only takes a few minutes to make a call or fax a letter, and we know from past experience that Israeli authorities can occasionally be affected by outside pressure, if enough of us participate.

When Abdullah was arrested in December, folksinger David Rovics wrote an article in which he said, "If Abdullah Abu Rahma were in a different context, say in some equally small town in Massachusetts, he's undoubtedly the sort of guy who would be an active member, and perhaps occasionally president, of the local Rotary Club. He's the sort of guy anybody from anywhere would recognize in their community – a reliable, gentle man without any grandiose ambitions in life, a family man, content with village life."
Read the article, called 'Arresting Gandhi', here:
http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/12724-arresting....html (http://www.atlanticfreepress.com/news/1/12724-arresting-gandhi-violent-clashes-and-the-arrest-of-abdullah-abu-rahma.html)

More info about today's conviction:
http://www.imemc.org/article/59324

February letter from Abdullah in prison:
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/02/22/in-captivity-a-letter-...ahma/ (http://pulsemedia.org/2010/02/22/in-captivity-a-letter-from-abdallah-abu-rahma/)

More info about the weekly non-violent demonstrations that have gone on for more than six years in Bil'in:
http://www.bilin-ffj.org (http://www.bilin-ffj.org/)

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[freepalestine]

Army court to sentence Palestinian activist

Published yesterday (updated) 14/09/2010 12:03
http://maannews.net/eng/images/ViewDetails/Eng-1.jpg http://maannews.net/eng/images/ViewDetails/Eng+1.jpg



http://maannews.net/images/PhotoViewer/75429.jpg


BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The trial of a Palestinian protest organizer will renew Wednesday after his conviction of incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations was harshly criticized by the EU, the Spanish parliament and human rights organizations.

Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, was arrested in 2009 by soldiers who raided his home at the middle of the night and was subsequently indicted before an Israeli military court on disputed charges that included stone-throwing and arms possession.

Abu Rahmah was cleared of both the stone-throwing and arms possession charges, but convicted of organizing illegal demonstrations and incitement. Nine months after his arrest, Abu Rahmah is still kept on remand.

On Wednesday, the activist's trial will enter the sentencing phase, in which the prosecution will argue its case for an jail and is expected to ask for a sentence exceeding two years. The defense will argue Abu Rahmah should be released immediately.

Abu Rahmah's conviction was subject to harsh international criticism.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed her deep concern "that the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest," after EU diplomats attended all hearings in Abu Rahmah's case. Ashton's statement was followed by one from the Spanish parliament.

South African human right activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on Israel to overturn Abu Rahmah's conviction on behalf of the Elders, a group of international public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates brought together by Nelson Mandela. Members of the Elders, including Tutu, have with Abu Rahmah on their visit to Bil'in prior to his arrest.

Amnesty International condemned Abu Rahmah's conviction as an assault on the right to freedom of expression. Human Rights Watch denounced the conviction, pronouncing the whole process "an unfair trial."



http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=314671

[Comrade Gwydion]

On a side note, did I just read the SPANISH PARLIAMENT spoke out against this?
Man, I love the spanish... Our government is even less critical of israel then the USA is.