Sheik Raed Salah acquitted by Jerusalem court of first of three charges

Israeli court acquits Sheikh Raed in the ‘Hilwani Rooftop’ Case
MEMO
12.01.12

Umm al-Fahm (Palestine) – Quds Press
On Thursday, an Israeli court in Jerusalem issued a decision to acquit the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, of the charge of non-compliance with a legal order in August 2007.

In a statement to al-Quds Press, Sheikh Raed Salah’s lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, said that “The decision issued by the magistrate’s court refers to the incident which occurred in October 2007 when Israeli agents attacked Sheikh Raed and his companions as they took part in a charity dinner on the roof of Al-Hilwai [a building in the Wadi Juz neighbourhood of Silwan] claiming that the dinner was a meeting of the Hamas Movement.”

Mr Abu Hussein added that the court had “today given its verdict, and that the attack on the Sheikh and those with him was neither legal nor justified as the matter was completely unconnected to the Hamas Movement and there is no evidence to the contrary.”

With regard to the other cases linked to Sheikh Raed that remain pending before the Israeli courts, Abu Hussein said, “there are two more cases; the first relates to Sheikh Raed Salah’s alleged incitement during his Friday sermon in Wadi al-Joz, and the second relates to Israeli police claims that Sheikh Raed attacked a police officer on his return from performing the Hajj pilgrimage a few years ago.”

As regards the case surrounding Sheikh Raed Salah’s deportation from the UK, his lawyers have said it is expected that the Appeal Court will convene a session early this February to review his appeal. The Sheikh is due to appeal against a decision by the UK Immigration Tribunal which ruled in favour of deporting him from the country.