Ahmad Khalefa, human rights lawyer of Palestinian heritage, released to house arrest after organising anti-war protest
The Guardian
A prominent Israeli human rights lawyer of Palestinian heritage has been released to house arrest after spending 110 days in prison for organising a peaceful protest against the war in Gaza.
A supreme court judge ruled on Wednesday that Ahmad Khalefa, 42, a lawyer working with Human Rights Defenders Fund, an Israeli non-governmental organisation, should be detained at home subject to electronic monitoring while his case is pending.
He was arrested on 19 October and charged with “incitement to terrorism” and “identifying with a terrorist organisation”.
No evidence has been presented by prosecutors to support the accusations against him and he is facing up to eight years in prison if convicted, according to his colleagues.
Khalefa, a well-known community figure in the Arab Israeli town of Umm al-Fahm, used commonly known anti-occupation chants during the protest, for which he was arrested, sustaining mild injuries.
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