Israel urged to give fair trial or free Gaza aid worker

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - Israel must release a former Gaza aid worker held in prison for more than four years without a verdict or immediately grant him a fair trial, UN human rights experts said Thursday.

Mohammed el-Halabi, a former Gaza director of the World Vision charity, was arrested by Israeli security forces in June 2016 on allegations that he diverted millions of dollars in development funds to armed groups in Gaza.

El-Halabi has denied the charges and audits have not substantiated them, said the experts in a statement.

“El-Halabi’s arrest, interrogation, and trial are not worthy of a democratic state,” the experts said, adding: “Israeli authorities must grant him the full rights of a fair trial, or else release him unconditionally.”

The UN experts include Michael Lynk, special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; Agnès Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Diego García-Sayán, UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

“What is happening to el-Halabi bears no relation to the trial standards we expect from democracies and is part of a pattern where Israel uses secret evidence to indefinitely detain hundreds of Palestinians,” they said.

Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, questioned him for 50 days after his arrest without allowing him access to a lawyer.

El-Halabi says he was tortured, deprived of sleep, and hung from a ceiling during this time, the experts said. His lawyer says the Israeli prosecutor repeatedly offered him a plea deal, but he rejected it and maintained his innocence.

“It’s particularly disturbing that the prosecution is relying upon confessions allegedly obtained by force while he was denied access to a lawyer, and on testimony from undercover informers,” the experts said.

Since his arrest and imprisonment, el-Halabi has attended more than 140 court hearings, all behind closed doors.

His lawyer has been prevented from reviewing Israeli prosecution evidence or was given limited access due to secrecy restrictions.

“These fundamentally unfair practices stain the justice system of any state,” the experts said. “We demand that Israel adhere to the requirements of the international rule of law,” said the experts.

“Comprehensive audits of the financial records by World Vision and by the Australian government, which donated the money, failed to turn up any misappropriation of funds or other wrongdoing,” they added.