Israeli minister and former military chief Moshe Yaalon cancelled a UK visit because of fears of arrest for alleged war crimes, his office says.Pro-Palestinian groups in Britain want Mr Yaalon to face trial over the 2002 killing of a Gaza militant, in which 14 others also died.
Mr Yaalon took legal advice and wanted "to avoid playing into the hands of anti-Israel propaganda", an aide said.
A similar attempt last week failed to get Israel's defence minister arrested.
Mr Yaalon, who is vice prime minister and strategic affairs minister, had been invited to attend a charity dinner held by the Jewish National Fund's UK branch.
But his spokesman, Alon Ofek-Arnon, confirmed that the foreign ministry's legal team had advised against it.
Israeli media reported that the advisers believed Mr Yaalon would not be accorded diplomatic immunity - in contrast to Defence Minister Ehud Barak who visited the Labour Party Conference in Brighton without interference.
"This is a campaign whose goal is to de-legitimise the state," Mr Yaalon said in remarks quoted by Haaretz newspaper.
Allegations against Mr Yaalon date back to July 2002, when an Israel Air force jet dropped a one-tonne bomb in a densely populated area of Gaza to assassinate senior Hamas figure Salah Shehada.
The attack was part of Israel's policy of "targeted killings" of Palestinian militants it blamed for plotting attacks against it.
At the time, the army expressed regret about the deaths of the 14 civilians, at least eight of them children. in addition to Mr Shehada and said they had come about as the result of faulty intelligence.
Britain has adopted the legal principle of "universal jurisdiction", under which domestic courts in countries around the world can try war crimes suspects, even if the crime took place outside the country and the suspect is not a citizen.
Palestinian campaigners sought Mr Barak's arrest last week, in connection with Israel's controversial military operation in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, but judges declined to hear the case.
A UN report by international prosecutor Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. Israel rejected its findings.
Showing posts with label arrests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arrests. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader
Egyptian security forces have arrested a leading member of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and three others in pre-dawn raids on Sunday, the group said on its website.
Wednesday, July 1,2009 07:04
Egyptian security forces have arrested a leading member of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and three others in pre-dawn raids on Sunday, the group said on its website.
Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a member of the Islamist group"s politburo, Fathi Lashin, a former judge, Gamal Abdel Salam of the Arab doctors union, and teacher Abdel Rahman al-Gamal, were detained.
"The arrests are part of the regime"s attempt to cut the Brotherhood off from Egyptian political life," the group"s number two Mohammed Habib said on the website.
He said more than 140 members had been arrested in recent weeks.
The Brotherhood, Egypt"s main opposition movement, is officially banned but members operate openly in the name of the group despite frequent government crackdowns.
It fielded candidates running as "independents" in the 2005 election, clinching one fifth of the seats in parliament, which is controlled by President Hosni Mubarak"s ruling National Democratic Party.
Egypt"s next legislative election is scheduled for 2010.
Wednesday, July 1,2009 07:04
Egyptian security forces have arrested a leading member of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and three others in pre-dawn raids on Sunday, the group said on its website.
Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a member of the Islamist group"s politburo, Fathi Lashin, a former judge, Gamal Abdel Salam of the Arab doctors union, and teacher Abdel Rahman al-Gamal, were detained.
"The arrests are part of the regime"s attempt to cut the Brotherhood off from Egyptian political life," the group"s number two Mohammed Habib said on the website.
He said more than 140 members had been arrested in recent weeks.
The Brotherhood, Egypt"s main opposition movement, is officially banned but members operate openly in the name of the group despite frequent government crackdowns.
It fielded candidates running as "independents" in the 2005 election, clinching one fifth of the seats in parliament, which is controlled by President Hosni Mubarak"s ruling National Democratic Party.
Egypt"s next legislative election is scheduled for 2010.
Egypt: Brotherhood crackdown sees more leaders arrested
Heshmat was arrested along with 12 other members, including Mohamed Sweidan, the chief administrator in the Beheira governorate.
Monday, September 28,2009 15:50
On Saturday evening, Gamal Heshmat, a leading Muslim Brotherhood reformist leader and former Member of Parliament, was arrested by Egyptian security forces in the most recent raid against the Islamic group. The arrest of yet another reformer has left the Brotherhood worried that the continued pressures being exerted by the government could lead to a conservative and extremist backlash.
Heshmat was arrested along with 12 other members, including Mohamed Sweidan, the chief administrator in the Beheira governorate.
According to sources within the Brotherhood, they were taken at around 7 pm on Saturday and it is unclear what they are being charged with, but a statement from the Brotherhood late in the evening said they are likely to face similar charges to the approximately 300 MB members currently languishing in prison.
Cairo usually holds Brotherhood leaders on charges of “belonging to a banned organization” and “receiving financial support from foreign sources.” The MB’s Executive Bureau – the Congress-like committee of the Islamic group – has denied receiving money from foreigners.
Earlier this summer, popular reformist leader Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh – he is also the Secretary-General of the Arab Doctors Union in Cairo – was arrested. He has been in police custody for more than three months and is being accused of attempting to “develop an international Islamic network.”
Aboul Fotouh’s arrest and subsequent detention has sparked much ire among activists, including secularists, who believe the crackdown against Brotherhood members is “inappropriate.” George Ishaq, a leading Kefaya (Enough) Movement activist, told Bikya Masr at a downtown solidarity demonstration for the embattled MB leader, that the “regime wants to take down anyone who opposes it and this will not happen. We will stand strong in the face of their arrogance.”
For Heshmat, Sweidan and others, the battle now heads to the courts, where release orders are routinely thrown aside by the interior ministry, who uses the nearly 30-year-old Emergency Laws to hold citizens indefinitely.
Khaled Hamza, the Editor of the Brotherhood’s English Language website Ikhwanweb, said in a statement that he fears the arrests will spark a backlash among the younger generation, who is becoming more and more fed up with the current state of affairs in Egypt.
“The ongoing crackdown and arrests of the Muslim Brotherhood’s reformists and leaders serves only the extremists who are against any form of peaceful democracy,” he began. “The radical measures adopted by the Egyptian regime with the continued arrests and crackdowns of peaceful and distinguished members of the movement will result in an outbreak by the younger generation who will follow and embrace the extremists’ path.”
The warning is worrying many in Egypt, who feel the arrests are doing more harm than good. But, what is certain is that the Brotherhood continues to push on, preparing itself for a January vote for a new Supreme Guide.
“We will not be stopped by the government to have a democratic election, something they do not do,” said current Supreme Guide Mahdy Akef.
The Brotherhood has been facing a government backlash since their surprise showing in the 2005 Parliamentary elections that saw them secure nearly one-fifth of the Parliamentary seats. Hundreds of members have seen the inside of jail cells since that election victory as Cairo prepares for life after President Hosni Mubarak, who is not expected to run for another term in 2011.
Monday, September 28,2009 15:50
On Saturday evening, Gamal Heshmat, a leading Muslim Brotherhood reformist leader and former Member of Parliament, was arrested by Egyptian security forces in the most recent raid against the Islamic group. The arrest of yet another reformer has left the Brotherhood worried that the continued pressures being exerted by the government could lead to a conservative and extremist backlash.
Heshmat was arrested along with 12 other members, including Mohamed Sweidan, the chief administrator in the Beheira governorate.
According to sources within the Brotherhood, they were taken at around 7 pm on Saturday and it is unclear what they are being charged with, but a statement from the Brotherhood late in the evening said they are likely to face similar charges to the approximately 300 MB members currently languishing in prison.
Cairo usually holds Brotherhood leaders on charges of “belonging to a banned organization” and “receiving financial support from foreign sources.” The MB’s Executive Bureau – the Congress-like committee of the Islamic group – has denied receiving money from foreigners.
Earlier this summer, popular reformist leader Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh – he is also the Secretary-General of the Arab Doctors Union in Cairo – was arrested. He has been in police custody for more than three months and is being accused of attempting to “develop an international Islamic network.”
Aboul Fotouh’s arrest and subsequent detention has sparked much ire among activists, including secularists, who believe the crackdown against Brotherhood members is “inappropriate.” George Ishaq, a leading Kefaya (Enough) Movement activist, told Bikya Masr at a downtown solidarity demonstration for the embattled MB leader, that the “regime wants to take down anyone who opposes it and this will not happen. We will stand strong in the face of their arrogance.”
For Heshmat, Sweidan and others, the battle now heads to the courts, where release orders are routinely thrown aside by the interior ministry, who uses the nearly 30-year-old Emergency Laws to hold citizens indefinitely.
Khaled Hamza, the Editor of the Brotherhood’s English Language website Ikhwanweb, said in a statement that he fears the arrests will spark a backlash among the younger generation, who is becoming more and more fed up with the current state of affairs in Egypt.
“The ongoing crackdown and arrests of the Muslim Brotherhood’s reformists and leaders serves only the extremists who are against any form of peaceful democracy,” he began. “The radical measures adopted by the Egyptian regime with the continued arrests and crackdowns of peaceful and distinguished members of the movement will result in an outbreak by the younger generation who will follow and embrace the extremists’ path.”
The warning is worrying many in Egypt, who feel the arrests are doing more harm than good. But, what is certain is that the Brotherhood continues to push on, preparing itself for a January vote for a new Supreme Guide.
“We will not be stopped by the government to have a democratic election, something they do not do,” said current Supreme Guide Mahdy Akef.
The Brotherhood has been facing a government backlash since their surprise showing in the 2005 Parliamentary elections that saw them secure nearly one-fifth of the Parliamentary seats. Hundreds of members have seen the inside of jail cells since that election victory as Cairo prepares for life after President Hosni Mubarak, who is not expected to run for another term in 2011.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)