Judge Ehud Kaplan of the Hadera Magistrate's Court released from custody Brigadier General Amir Hashakal, who was arrested last night at a demonstration in Caesarea. Judge criticized the conduct of the police, who claimed to have obstructed traffic, after it was police officers who blocked the road earlier.
Judge Kaplan told his defense attorney, Orit Shalu from the protest detention system, "The time has come that you file civil lawsuits against the police." The 70-year-old intellectual was arrested yesterday evening at a demonstrators in Caeesarea after he "participated in a prohibited gathering and participated in a riot after being ordered to disperse", according to the police. The police have filed an appeal against the judge's decision. Judge Lubna Sha'ata Halaila will hold a hearing on the appeal, tomorrow. The other 14 people the police arrested last evening were also released earlier today. But still, the Israel Police insists that the judge erred when he determined that the announcement of the prohibited gathering was made arbitrarily.