Documentation of violence against the press photographer Rami Khativ/according to section 27a of the copyright law
Following an appeal by the Journalists' Organization, the Israel Defense Forces will reopen a case of police violence against journalist Rami Khatib.
The incident of violence took place on April 15, 2022 in the Temple Mount compound, during clashes with the police and confessions of stones. Journalist, member of the organization Rami Khatib , took pictures of the confrontations, and then, when he was already on his way out, policemen approached him. He identified himself as a journalist, and then, for no reason, some of the policemen began to beat him with batons, they kicked him violently. He collapsed, they left him on the ground and before leaving the The place sabotaged his photography equipment. A medical team evacuated him to a hospital. The medical documents he submitted to the Medical Examiner's Office indicated serious long-term damage.
A few days after the incident, Khativ filed a complaint with the police along with documentation.
The Prosecutor's Office closed the case on the grounds that there was not enough evidence and the chances of conviction were low
A few days after the incident, Khativ filed a complaint with the police, he testified and even attached to his testimony video footage and stills documenting the violence of the police officers and the entire incident. For some reason, the police decided to close the case and so informed Khativ in July 2023. The reason: no There was enough evidence and the chances of conviction are low.
Khativ filed an appeal against the decision, through the legal advisers of the journalists' organization, attorney Amir Besha and attorney Lilach Levy, and as mentioned, the appeal was accepted and the case was opened for completion of an investigation.
Anat Sargosti, Director of the Freedom of the Press Department at the Journalists' Organization: "We accompany several journalists who were victims of police violence. The organization takes a serious view of the incompetence of the Police and the fact that the unit does not attach sufficient importance to police violence against journalists who are doing their job and serving the public interest and The public's right to know.
We demand that police officers who act violently towards journalists be treated with the full severity of the law, see the big picture and not take it lightly in any of the cases, otherwise it has a chilling effect on journalists who will be afraid to carry out their duties.
The police also need to understand that freedom of the press is a fundamental value in a democratic regime."
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