The Occupation indicts the director of “Jenin, Jenin” film

The Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is expected to file charges against the director of the film “Jenin, Jenin”, Mohammed Barki, for allegedly defaming Israeli soldiers.

Mazuz met with State Prosecutor Moshe Lador and the chief of the Israel Defense Forces Armored Corps, Brigadier General Agai Yehezkel, as a representative of the soldiers who invaded the Jenin Refugee Camp in 2002; in addition to family members of the 13 soldiers killed during the attack.

The meeting’s attendees called upon the Attorney General to use his authority to prosecute Bakri on charges of libel and defamation because his film accuses IDF troops of committing war crimes during the operation.

In November 2003, the Israeli Supreme Court permitted the screening of the film after its censuring, a rule that constitutes an obstacle in the way of the current indictment that Mazuz intends to make. The film had been rejected by the Israeli Ministry of Culture’s Film Ratings Board.

Military Advocate General Brigadier General Avihai Mandelblit asked Mazuz last year to initiate criminal proceedings against Bakri.  A suit for libel, against Bakri, was filed by five soldiers who had participated in the attack.