Israel’s War Against Palestine: Documenting the Military Occupation of Palestinian and Arab Lands

Ameer Makhoul’s Gag Order

11 May 2010

Image of the original gag order (Hebrew) was first published by Richard Silverstein, Tikun Olam blog – 11 May 2010
www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/05/11/makhoul-secret-court-documents-gag-order-and-ruling-partially-lifting-it/

Ameer Makhoul's gag order

Ameer Makhoul's gag order

IOA Editor: In order to avoid misinterpretations, the following English translation was purposefully done on the literal side.  It is factually accurate, even if the translator would have written it somewhat differently had the original text been written in English.  [See notes in square brackets.]




Police of Israel

In Closed Doors

Magistrate Court of Petach Tikva
22 April 2010
The Appellant – The State of Israel
via the Israeli Police [Yakhbal-unit], Officer [rank] Sa’ar Shapira

A request for a discussion in closed-doors and for the  issuance of an order prohibiting publication – a security affair

A request is hereby made to hold the discussion in closed-doors, in order to protect the security of the state and in order not to harm the investigation, in accordance with Section 68(b)(1)+(7) and also Section 68(c) of the Court Houses Law (combined version) 1984, and also a request to prohibit publication in accordance with Section 70(a) and (e) of the above law, and that for the following reasons:

1.  The Israeli Police is conducting an investigation in which suspicions of security violations of contact with foreign agent and espionage, violations of Sections 114(a), 112(a) of the Penal Code of 1977, are being investigated.
2.   Any publication about the investigation, or any detail of the investigation, may harm the security of the state, the investigation, obstruct or prevent evidence discovery to prove criminal violations and to investigate the truth.

In view of the above, we are requesting that the honorable court will instruct to hold the discussion in closed-doors and for the issuance of an order prohibiting publication for 90 days, that will prohibit any publication on the matter of the investigation of file 151787/10 Yakhbal [unit], and any detail of the investigation, or its very existence, and all court discussions and decisions that took place or will take place in connection with the subject under investigation.

Also, we are requesting that the order will instruct to prohibit any publication of the very filing of this request, its content, the very existence of the order, and any other publication that may result in the identification of the respondent, witnesses, suspects, and additional involved [parties] connected to the subject of the investigation, to the publication of their photographs, their addresses, and any other identifying detail.

In order to effectuate the order, approval is requested to disseminate the fact of its existence  to various media outlets, as necessary. For their information only (without publication by the media outlets that an order to prohibit publication of a security affair exists).

[Rank] Sa’ar SHapira
Yakhbal [unit]

DECISION

[Handwritten, at bottom, by Judge Einat Ron]

After I heard the representatives of the appellant – and I was convinced that publication of this affair at this stage may harm the security of the state and the investigation in an actual manner, I found to accept the request as requested.

An order to prohibit publication of this affair is hereby issued, on all that concerns the investigation on the matter of this affair, its content, [those] involved in it, and every detail related to them and could bring to their identification, as well as on request itself and its content – except the [annex?] to the request, in accordance with the judgment of the appellant.

This order is for 30 days from today.

Einat Ron, Judge
Petach Tikva Magitrate Court
22 April 2010


The complete IOA coverage of the arrest of Ameer Makhoul and Omar Said

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