Attorneys Shahdeh Ibn Bari and Omer Shatz approached HRDF aid in launching an appeal in the District Court. The request was approved and the appeal successful. Judge Tali Haimovitch ruled that the charge of “illegal gathering” (i.e. protesting without a permit) was not cause to limit freedom of movement and expression.

The detainees spent over 24 hours in cells before being brought before a judge. Veteran human rights lawyer Andrei Rosenthal (HRDF funded) conducted effective cross-examination of the police witnesses and presented photographic evidence, which prompted the Judge Fiona Gertel to remark “That looks just like Iran.” In her ruling, she lambasted the police for escalating the situation through violence and refused to impose the draconic release conditions the prosecutor demanded.

Police were forced to explore other methods: the following Monday, Benninga and another organizer who spoke at J Street, Assaf Sharon, were among a group interrogated for hours on suspicion of “incitement and subversion.” On Friday, March 25 2011, Sharon was arrested while filming in Silwan. After being handcuffed, he was moved to a jeep, where he was severely beaten and pepper-sprayed.

Previous experience in the village of Bilin indicated that even the military court system was not quick to convict protest leaders on trumped up charges, unless “incontrovertible” evidence was presented. That evidence is absent, primarily because community leaders are dedicated to non-violence. Therefore, a new method has been found to manufacture it. Children who have been filmed throwing stones (not in the protest) are arrested, subjected to interrogation using extreme and illegal methods, and forced to say that their elders incited the action. To facilitate this method, the IDF has begun cataloging: In night raids on village homes, children are pulled from their beds and photographed.

On January 26 2011, 14-year-old Islam Tamimi was arrested on the charge of stone throwing. His interrogators denied a lawyer access and proceeded with an all-night interrogation. Two leaders of the village’s Popular Committee have since been arrested based on the confession extracted.

Adv. Gaby Lasky, one of the most active Israeli human rights defenders in the West Bank, managed to obtain video of six hours of the interrogation. It provides prima facie evidence of extreme human rights violations. Without a transcript, however, the chances of her motion to exclude the confession are low. Lasky, already burdened by immense debt resulting from her pro bon work, could not afford the NIS 11,000 required. She approached the HRDF for aid and the request was approved.