Against the backdrop of the pride events held in Tel Aviv, Aharon Burstein, a resident of the city, was arrested yesterday (Thursday) by the police on suspicion of behavior liable to disturb public peace. Burstein was placed under house arrest until Saturday night, with the police standing under his house all this time. Burstein has no criminal record, but was apparently arrested because he stood in his yard last year during a gay pride parade with a sign saying "I protest."
As mentioned, yesterday, a few hours before the parade, Burstein left the synagogue on Ben Yehuda Street and police officers approached him and asked to detain him for interrogation. He was brought to the police station on Salma Street, where he was interrogated until 6 p.m., when he was finally informed that he had to be under full house arrest until Saturday night.
Police outside Aaron Burstein's home
According to Attias, his client did nothing to justify house arrest and none of the police officers until this moment had told him for what offense and on what grounds he was being detained. From a conversation he held with Superintendent Ora Shafir, the Tel Aviv Fraud Chief of Staff, he noted that no answers were given except "this is a decision by the command."
In the urgent application filed today by his attorney, Roy Attias, to the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, he states that he was interrogated for hours for no reason. He added that about a month ago, police officers informed him that a gay pride parade was coming soon and that he knew how to be careful "not to do anything." The court ordered the police to send a response by noon before the hearing.
Attorney Attias said: "The thought police operate with indescribable bullying. Without any pretext, a civilian is arrested, threatened, locked up in his home for days with police outside the door, and why? Because he is an ultra-Orthodox who expressed an opinion at his doorstep against the gay pride parade, who wrote on a sign saying 'I protest' and nothing more."
Police did not respond
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