Palestinian lawyers strike, protest changes made by Abbas

Members of the Palestinian Bar Association yesterday refused to attend court sessions and organised a sit-in in front of the Cabinet building in Ramallah to protest the enforcement of judicial amendments issued by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earlier this year.

The Bar Association handed Justice Minister, Mohammed Al-Shalaldeh, a letter with its demands.

More than 1,200 lawyers took part in the protest calling for a halt to the decisions which the Association says carry “risks to justice and citizens’ dignity”.

The measures introduced include allowing a court hearing to proceed without the presence of the defendant. According to the Association, the defendant’s presence before a judge is paramount, so that the judge can not only monitor the integrity of the procedures, but also access the defendant’s safety from being subjected to torture, abuse or harsh punishment.

The new text paves the way for political or “security” detainees to be transferred to Jericho’s Magistrate’s Court without a legal basis, Jerusalem24 news site reported.

The Association’s Secretary-General, Daoud Darawi, said: “We hope the coming days will bring a response from the decision-maker and President Mahmoud Abbas to stop these decisions by law. From the beginning, we are open to dialogue, but we are convinced that the decisions cannot be implemented in their current form, because this will affect the rights of litigants before the courts.”

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