Attorney Tariq Barghouti who represented Ahmed Manasra, the 13-year-old terrorist who carried out the stabbing attack in Pisgat Zeev six weeks ago, was released on Wednesday to house arrest without access to the Internet, NRG reported. Barghouti was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of incitement and sedition, following his posts on his Facebook page. The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Gioia Scapa Shapiro ordered his release, while severely criticizing the conduct of the police. The judge said she doubted attorney Barghouti incited to violence or terrorism, and noted that the posts are just “a collection of praise for and solidarity with the perpetrators of terrorism, but include no explicit call to perform similar acts.”
“During the discussions it became clear that some of the texts that the suspect was accused of posting were translated into Hebrew only partially and may well have been taken out of context,” wrote the Judge. She noted: “The majority of the reports attributed to the respondent are not appealing to the ear or the eye, and may be aggravating, but these publications are within the protection of freedom of expression.”
The judge agreed that “some of the posts may be sufficient to establish a suspicion of a violation of the prohibition against publishing praise to acts of violence. Nevertheless, these are at most praise for and solidarity with those who committed an act of violence or terrorism, and there is no explicit call to perform similar acts.”
During the hearing, police representative Sergeant Major Gadi Lubin elaborated on the contents of the posts which aroused police suspicion. For example, regarding the terrorist Bilal Ghanem, who carried out the deadly attack at Armon Hanatziv where he murdered three people with another terrorist, Attorney Barghouti wrote, “Bilal Ghanem — you must meet him, he is the peak of masculinity.” In another post, Barghouti addressed the Druze minority, and called on them, “Don’t be swept up by the occupation authorities and don’t carry out their instructions to attack our brothers.” In another post, he called for a “Monument for the shahids” to be constructed from the concrete barriers erected in eastern Jerusalem during the wave of terror.
“Once a person praises the actions of a [terrorist] client, it’s an act of sedition and incitement,” argued Sergeant Major Lubin. “The words ‘peak of masculinity,’ that’s incitement.” In addition, the police representative addressed a post by Barghouti about the publication of a video about the interrogation of 13-year-old terrorist Ahmed Manasra, whom he is representing together with Attorney Lea Tsemel. “His blood will haunt you until your demise,” reads the post. In response to questions from attorney Mohamed Mahmoud, who represents Barghouti, Lubin added that the police investigation was approved by the Justice Ministry.