Best of ... Covering the courts
Al Rou’ah TV, Bethlehem
This report, by Nader Abu Sarhan of Roua’h TV, was filmed from inside the Bethlehem First Instance Court where a murder case of a man killed in 2005 by two people - one is accused as the prime suspect and the other as his accomplice - was being heard. The session, in which the prosecutor, lawyer and the defendant speak, was recorded in full. The lawyer is laying out his defense by trying to prove that the crime was not deliberate or pre-meditated but rather was committed in self-defense. The continuance date for the case was set at the end of the session. | | |
Zain Asqalan: Al Quds Newspaper
This article, by Zain Asqalan of Al Quds Newspaper, examines a court case being heard in Nablus on the crime of murder. The prime suspect is alleged to have stabbed and killed a 21 year old man in his house in the village of Beit Foreek. Three others are also on trial for having participated. Reporting from the court, Zain writes that one of the witnesses in the case testified that the victim was struck on the hip with a sharp instrument while another perpetrator was carrying a stick and the third was breaking the windows of the house. This hearing was the eighth in the continuing case. The next court date was set before the court adjourned for the day.
Tariq Al Mahaba Radio, Nablus
Lina Hajjaj
Reporting from the court in Nablus, Lina Hajjaj of Tareq al Mahaba radio opens with a sound bite of the patient who has brought a case against a doctor for malpractice. The man has accused the doctor of making a mistake in his treatment for a sever backache and says, “because of you, Dr. Mofid, I used to walk using one cane but now I must use two.” The report cuts to a sound bite of the doctor explaining that, “Palestinian law is fair.. I worked in accordance to the scientific and medical standards… "
The reporter goes on to explain that more than sixty-five claims have been brought to the courts over the past two years for medical mistakes according to statistics of the Palestinian Independent Committee for Citizens Rights, which adds that the number of cases is likely higher than that. Lina then cuts back to the court where the patient is giving a detailed explanation of the claim stating that he was a victim of a medical mistake, where he faced ignorance and mistakes. The doctor reacts to the statement explaining that he operated on the patient who came with severe back pains and that he treated the patient without asking him to pay. The doctor believes that the law should be strict with such claims against doctors. In defending his client, the doctor’s lawyer explains that the doctor is experienced and he took all the right procedures in treating the patient.
| From Jenin, Farah TV’s Fathi Natour reports on the Palestinian legal system resuming its role in enhancing the rule of law. He reports that residents are more and more using the courts to solve their problems in all areas but especially regarding the issue of traffic incidents of which the courts receive a lot of cases. Last month, the court in Jenin examined 766 cases. Judge Zahi Bitwi said, “The police transfer to us the fines twice a month and we must examine all.” A drive, Issam Hoshiya was caught parking his car in an illegal area and was issued a traffic fine.While he was in the court, he said “I prefer to pay the fine three times instead of coming to the court and loosing so much time waiting to be called.”In the interview with the Police Traffic Department, commenting on the numbers of citations, the spokesperson said that they "do not even fine all those who violate the traffic rules. |
If we did there would be many more cases for the court."The reporter concludes by saying that although the citizens trust the legal system, they would prefer that traffic fines not be sent to courts to judge on them. The fine should be decided financially and the one who receives the ticket should pay it in the bank. In this way, fewer cases would clog the already backlogged courts. The Palestinian Traffic Law of 2000 has not yet been ratified but states that fines to be paid in the bank or the post office. Judge Zahi remarked that “it will be better with less cases being sent to the court, if the law is implemented.”
Suhad Azaan: Al Hayyat Al Jadida Newspaper
Suhad Azaan of Al Hayyat Al Jadida Newspaper reports from the High Cessation Court in Ramallah on eleven of the fifty cases that have been brought by government teachers after being laid off by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Suhad reported on the opening hearing where the plaintiffs’ lawyers delivered the career files of his clients as well as a letter from the security agencies that were empowered to follow up on the teachers. A date for the case was set for later.
Isis Radio, Bethlehem
Fadi Ala’assa
From Bethlehem, Fadi Ala’assa of Isis Radio opens his report with a recording of the questioning by the prosecutor of the defendant in the trial. Fadi is covering a trial in the First Instance Court in Bethlehem, in which the defendant is accused of killing a man in January 2005. In response to the questions, the defendant replies that he killed the man in self-defense. After the session, Fadi approached the Prosecutor who refuses to speak with him so he interviewed the defendant’s lawyer. The lawyer explains that that the main charge is pre-meditated or deliberate murder of the victim but that he, the lawyer, is trying to prove, through eye-witnesses, that the defendant was defending himself. The reporter spoke with the second defendant, who is accused of being an accomplice, said that he was kept in custody for more than two and a half years before being released. Fadi then interviews the defendant’s family who say that a tribal "sulha" took place and they paid 50,000 Jordanian Dinars and other terms set by the victim’s family but that they violated the terms and instead went to the court.
