Update, July 2nd: Nabil Al-Raee\’s returning home has once again been delayed for an unknown period of time. New charges have been brought up, as the Israeli prosecution is now accusing Nabil of “helping a wanted person”. There will be another military court hearing this Thursday, July 5th.
Meanwhile, Zakaria Zubeidi has initiated a hunger strike as he is continuing to be denied of his rights as stated in Palestinian law.
Please continue to take action. See numbers and to call and addresses to email here: https://thefreedomtheatre.org/news.php?id=239
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Update from the military court hearing on 1st of July:
Nabil Al-Raee\’s detention was extended for another 48 hours by the Israeli military court. Unless Nabil will be released earlier, there will be another hearing on Tuesday. The judge very explicitly stated that there are no suspicions whatsoever against Nabil.
Nabil has now been incarcerated for 26 days.
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On the 28th of June Nabil Al-Raee, The Freedom Theatre\’s Artistic Director had a military court hearing, the third consecutive hearing since his abduction on the 6th of June. In the previous two hearings it had become clear that Nabil was being held in connection with the murder of Juliano Mer Khamis but that he was not accused of any crime.
In an extremely humiliating military court hearing, with limited translation from Hebrew to Arabic and where Nabil was not allowed to speak on his own behalf, the judge made a decision on the basis of Nabil being a “security threat to the region”. The judge decided that Nabil should be released on bail on Monday July 2nd, on the condition that two Israeli ID holders sign a statement that they take responsibility for him. The bail was set to 10 000 NIS. He would also remain in house arrest for 60 days.
The Israeli side argued for the interrogations to continue, meanwhile Nabil\’s lawyer demanded for him to be released, since there had been no information or charges against him during the then 22 days of interrogation. Today, Sunday July 1st, there will be another hearing to discuss the appeals from both Nabil\’s lawyer and the Israeli authorities.
Nabil\’s wife Micaela Miranda attended the hearing but was not allowed to speak to her husband. – What I experienced in the military court today was a theatre play. This was not the law being upheld, this was a humiliating farce, says Micaela Miranda.
During the court hearing, Nabil\’s lawyer pointed out that nothing in this entire investigation, with 22 days of interrogation, has shown that Nabil has done anything illegal. Just as the interrogations of Bilal Assaadi and Adnan Naghnaghiye, chairperson and employee of The Freedom Theatre that were also abducted from their homes in the middle of the night, incarcerated and interrogated in a similar fashion, led to anything. The lawyer further pointed out that Nabil is responsible for the welfare of many others through his position as a teacher and manager of The Freedom Theatre\’s Acting School and that his absence causes damage to the theatre.
Zakaria Zubeidi, co-founder of The Freedom Theatre who has been incarcerated by the Palestinian Authority since the 13th of May, had a court hearing in Jericho on the 26th of June. Members of The Freedom Theatre travelled to Jericho to attend the hearing. Zakaria\’s lawyer was also present. However, they waited for Zakaria in vain. The lawyer was not informed that Zakaria had been transformed from a civil to a military court.
– This is an action to deny me the right to meet with or speak to my client, says Zakaria\’s lawyer Farid Hawash. The law states that the accused should be detained where he lives, where the alleged crime was committed or where he was arrested. In Zakaria\’s case this is Jenin, on all three accounts.
– They are playing with Zakaria, juggling him between the civil and military court in order to circumvent their own law, says Jonatan Stanczak.
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For further information Jonatan Stanczak, Managing Director of The Freedom Theatre, can be reached on jonatan@thefreedomtheatre.org and +46 (0)707908296
Micaela Miranda can be reached on micaela@thefreedomtheatre.org and +972(0)597016230.
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