Ameer Makhoul at court
Ameer Makhoul admits to charges of espionage, contact with a foreign agent and conspiring to assist an enemy, in plea bargain reached Wednesday.
IOA Editor: This is a travesty of justice of the first order: A man is kidnapped from his bed in the middle of the night by the police and held for days without the ability to consult a lawyer; he’s tortured, and signs an ‘admission.’ By law, his accusers — the Israeli government’s secret services and prosecution — are not required to present to him, and to his legal team, the evidence based on which he stands to be found guilty and be sentenced for a very long jail term. Finally, given the virtual outlawing of anything Palestinian in Israel today, it is no wonder that an accused would feel compelled to sign a plea-deal that is likely to land him in jail for 7-10 years – probably far less than if he were to deny the charges.
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz -27 Oct 2010
www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-arab-activist-confesses-to-spying-for-hezbollah-1.321438
Ameer Makhoul admits to charges of espionage, contact with a foreign agent and conspiring to assist an enemy, in plea bargain reached Wednesday.
A plea bargain in the espionage case against political activist Ameer Makhoul was reached on Wednesday, with Makhoul confessing to charges of conspiring to assist an enemy, contact with a foreign agent and espionage for Hezbollah.
Makhoul served as director of Ittijah, the Union of Arab Community-Based Organizations, and also chaired the High Arab Monitoring Committee’s panel on defending Arab citizens’ freedoms. He was arrested in May along with Omar Sayid, an activist with the Balad party.
Both were suspected of serious security offenses, including spying and the two allegedly were in contact with an agent from Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, the plea bargain was agreed upon in a Haifa District Court after being submitted on Tuesday.
The deal apparently involved amending the facts in the indictment – which was based mainly on Makhoul’s own statements to the police – and removing some of the charges against him, Haaretz has learned.
A representative for the prosecution said “The plea bargain was approved by the highest ranking levels of prosecution, including the state prosecutor. Most importantly Makhoul, who claimed he was being politically persecuted at the beginning of this, now stands in front of the court and admits to the charges attributed to him.”
The defendant’s lawyer said that despite the plea bargain which was reached, his client did not pass classified information to an enemy agent; he said all of the information was already known.
Makhoul said at the court that the story “is not yet finished.” He claimed that many of the charges that were brought against him were irrelevant, but he decided to accept the plea bargain after consulting with his lawyers and with family.
The punishment phase of the trail will begin on December 5. The prosecution is seeking a 10 year prison sentence, while the defense is aiming for seven.
The complete IOA coverage of the arrest of Ameer Makhoul and Omar Said
