On Sunday, July 31st, Israeli, Palestinian and international peace activists will hold a vigil at the Ofer Military Base at 3 PM to protest the imprisonment of Abdullah Abu Rahme. Abdullah, a leader of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall has been in detention at Ofer Military Base since his arrest during a non-violent demonstration on Friday, July 15, 2005.
Last Tuesday, the military judge at Ofer prison camp decided to keep Abdullah Abu Rahme in jail until the end of the proceedings against him.
Abdullah was arrested on July 17th at a demonstration in his home village of Bil’in. Together with Akram Khatib he was charged with assaulting a police officer. Abdullah is well known to Israeli activists who have joined Bil’in’s inspiring and highly creative struggle against the wall. Many such activists were with Abdullah when he was arrested and can testify to his innocence. Even those who have never met Abdulla might remember his last arrest on trumped up charges which were so obviously false that the police’s own internal investigation unit is investigating the policeman who testified against him for giving false testimony.
The current charges are just as ridiculous and the same amount of evidence proving his innocence (including video, still photographs, dozens of witnesses etc.) was presented to the court. The prosecution has hardly made an effort to build a case; they don’t need to. When it comes to Palestinians, the slightest evidence or the least credible testimony can land them in jail for months.