RAMALLAH: Bassem Tamimi, an activist from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, was arrested Last week during a protest at the Shaar Benyamin settlement. Tamimi's 16 year-old son, Wa'ed was arrested yesterday in Nabi Saleh. “Once again, Bassem Tamimi is being held solely for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly. We believe he is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International. Tamimi (45), a Palestinian protest organizer and grassroots activist from the village of Nabi Saleh, was arrested last Wednesday, October 24, during a demonstration inside Sha'ar Benyamin settlement, east of Ramallah. An indictment on charges of participation in an unauthorized demonstration, activity against public order and assault on a police officer was filed by the military prosecution on last Thursday. Despite the indictment, a military judge ordered Tamimi's release on a 20,000 NIS (5200 USD) bail into house arrest. Tamimi, however, remains under arrest, as The Military Prosecution acquired a stay order with the intention to file an appeal on the release decision. The appeal is scheduled to be filed today and will be heard on Monday or Tuesday. This is Tamimi's second imprisonment since demonstrations in his village began, nearly three years ago. In his previous trial, which ended on March this year, Tamimi was convicted of protest-organizing related charges based on the coerced testimonies of two minors, and sentenced to 13 months of imprisonment, as well as a 17-month suspended sentence that now looms over his head. During his last trial, Tamimi, was pronounced as prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and recognized as a human rights defender by the European Union. On another development, Tamimi's son, Wa'ed Tamimi (16) was arrested On Friday, November 2nd, during the weekly march in Nabi Saleh. The son, was interrogated at Shaar benyamin police station and then taken to Ofer prison. Wa'ed is expected to see a judge later today or tomorrow (Monday). Background Bassem Tamimi's previous detention spanned between March 2011 to March 2012. He was indicted on protest-organizing charges, and has spent 13 months in jail. His trial has shed light on systematic violations of Palestinian minors' right during police interrogations, and the use of their coerced confession to persecute political leadership. During the course of Tamimi's trial, new evidence has emerged, including first hand verification given by a military commander of disproportional use of force by the army in response to peaceful demonstrations, as well as police admittal of systematic violations of Palestinian minors' rights during police interrogations, when a police interrogator who questioned both material witnesses against Tamimi, said on the stand that in his 25 years as an officer, he cannot recall a single time in which a Palestinian minor was allowed the presence of his parents during questioning. Personal Background Bassem Tamimi is a veteran Palestinian grassroots activist from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah. He is married to Nariman Tamimi, with whom he fathers four children – Wa'ed (16), Ahed (12), Mohammed (10) and Salam (7). As a veteran activist, Tamimi has been arrested by the Israeli army 11 times to date, though he was never convicted of any offense. Tamimi spent roughly three years in administrative detention, with no charges brought against him. Furthermore, his attorney and he were denied access to “secret evidence" brought against him. In 1993, Tamimi was falsely arrested on suspicion of having murdered an Israeli settler in Beit El – an allegation of which he was cleared of entirely. During his weeks-long interrogation, he was severely tortured by the Israeli Shin Bet in order to draw a coerced confession from him. During his interrogation, and as a result of the torture he underwent, Tamimi collapsed and had to be evacuated to a hospital, where he laid unconscious for seven days. As a result of the wounds caused by torture, Tamimi was partially paralyzed for several months after his release from the hospital. At the opening of his previous trial, on June 5, 2011, Tamimi proudly owned up to organizing protests in the village. In a defiant speech before the court he said, “I organized these peaceful demonstrations to defend our land and our people.” Tamimi also challenged the legitimacy of the very system which trys him, saying that “Despite claiming to be the only democracy in the Middle East you are trying me under military laws [...] that are enacted by authorities which I haven't elected and do not represent me.” (See here for Tamimi's full statement). As one of the organizers of the Nabi Saleh protests and coordinator of the village's popular committee, Tamimi has been the target of harsh treatment by the Israeli army. Since demonstrations began in the village, his house has been raided and ransacked numerous times, his wife was twice arrested and two of his sons were injured; Wa'ed was hospitalized for five days when a rubber-coated bullet penetrated his leg and Mohammed was injured by a tear-gas projectile that was shot directly at him and hit him in the shoulder. Shortly after demonstrations in the village began, the Israeli Civil Administration served ten demolition orders to structures located in Area C, Tamimi's house was one of them, despite the fact that part of the house was built in 1965 and the rest in 2005.
