Placing a Demonstrator Behind Bars – another Stain on Deteriorating Democracy
Pollack will spend three months in jail for participating in a bike ride against the siege on Gaza; ACRI perceives case as part of a larger policy to infringe on freedom of speech and demonstration
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) harshly denounced the court’s decision today (December 27) to convict Israeli activist Jonathan Pollack for alleged “illegal assembly” and sentence him to three months imprisonment for his participation in a January 2008 Critical Mass bike ride against the siege on the Gaza Strip. Pollak was the only person arrested during the bike ride on the streets of Tel Aviv, and the protest continued after his arrest and ended with no further disturbances.
According to ACRI Chief Legal Advisor Dan Yakir: “Placing Pollak behind bars because of his participation in the Critical Mass bike ride is an extreme punishment and an unusually harsh measurement. The entire affair raises suspicion that Pollack was personally targeted because of his views, in an attempt to silence him and prevent him from partaking in various acts of protest.
“He was the only person arrested during the Critical Mass bike ride even though his actions were no different than those of other demonstrators. His arrest and trial are particularly unusual given the fact that many similar bike rides are carried out to protest different causes, yet the police typically choose neither to intervene nor arrest protesters”.
Further background:
Earlier this month, ACRI published a new report titled “State of Democracy: Freedom of Speech, Dissent, and Political Activity“.
http://democracy-project.org.il/en/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/democracy-freespeech.pdf
The report shows that over the last two years there has been a significant increase in attempts by the authorities to infringe on freedom of speech and those freedoms which derive from it: The right to demonstrate, freedom of the press, academic freedom and freedom of political activity. In addition, a “cooling effect” has taken hold, designed to deter potential protesters. For the full “Project Democracy Report on State of Democracy, Israel 2010”:
http://democracy-project.org.il/en/welcome/
