Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: After a surge of pressure from citizens and
various organisations outraged at their
treatment, three teenage girls, jailed for 40
days for protesting the Disengagement Plan,
were released Sunday. "The only thing that
made any difference was the public pressure,"
the father of one of the girls, Moshe
Belogorodsky, told Arutz-7.
JAILED TEENAGE PROTESTERS RELEASED DUE TO PUBLIC OUTCRY
Arutz Sheva News Service
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=87091
After a surge of pressure from citizens and various organisations outraged
at their treatment, three teenage girls, jailed for 40 days for protesting the
Disengagement Plan, were released Sunday. "The only thing that made
any difference was the public pressure," the father of one of the girls,
Moshe Belogorodsky, told Arutz-7.
Belogorodsky's daughter Chaya, 14, Moriah Goldberg, 13, and Peninah
Ashkenazi, 16, were released from prison Sunday after agreeing to
conditions limiting their movement.
"I was contacted by the Young Israel of America, the Rabbinic Council of
America, people who are friends with US president George W. Bush, a
group of Israeli criminologists, who released a statement on the girls'
behalf, and several world-renowned psychologists, who submitted letters
about the detrimental effects of jailing minors," said Belogorodsky. "And
that's not all. Somebody made an inquiry to the Canadian Agency for
Children's Rights, who said that in no democratic country in the world were
minors being arrested for political protest. The good-hearted people who
did all these things sent each letter and document to Israel's president
and the Israeli supreme court as well. Many people took the initiative and
wrote to the Israeli embassy in America as well."
Belogorodsky said that all the protests forced the courts to reconsider their
position. "They decided to try to make a deal," he said.
The agreement that was reached allowed the girls to go together to one of
their grandparents homes for one week, after which they are to be placed
under house-arrest in their homes for ten days (the beginning of the
implementation of the Disengagement Plan). After that, they will appear in
court, and they are to then be free to go wherever they please.
Belogorodsky said that although the prosecution was eager to see the
girls released, the negotiations were limited by supreme court justice Ayala
Procaccia's original ruling that the girls' parents could not be trusted to
keep them away from anti-expulsion activities. "They backed up as much
as they could without countering her," said Belogorodsky. "We did not
want to accept the deal at first - we felt the girls had already suffered
enough and it was not right for us to agree to an exile, even though it was
just for a couple days. But after speaking to the lawyers, and amongst
ourselves, we concluded that it was critical to get them out of jail as soon
as possible."
The release of the girls, the parents say, is not the end of the
struggle. "We are going to demand an investigative committee to see why
the justice system decided to put its full weight on our kids when it doesn't
do the same for violent criminals," Belogorodsky said. "We have
approached Knesset members Rabbi Benny Elon (National Union) and Gila
Finkelstein (NRP) to urge them to draft legislation that will prevent the
courts from using criminal law to prosecute political opponents in the
future."
"The practice of treating demonstrators like criminals is outrageous," said
Belogorodsky. "If Procaccia's decision remains in place, it will allow anybody
who opposes the government to be put away. It is already being used
against other minors."
Belogorodsky, as a father, is extremely relieved to see his daughter out of
prison and said that he wanted to convey his thanks to everybody, the
world over, who took the time to struggle on her behalf. "After hearing
about her release on the radio, some people drove spontaneously to the
court house. When the girls were released, we had a spontaneous party.
All day long people were calling to deliver cakes and food. If you could
thank all them for me, I would appreciate it."