2018-12-24

Ramallah

West Bank

His Excellency Attorney General, Dr. Ahmad Barak,

Subject: Violating the Lawyer's Right to Communicate with his Client

MUSAWA- the Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extends its warmest greetings to your Excellency.

On 12/12/2018, the center received a written memo from Adv. Wissam Hammad, in his capacity as the agent of the accused, Tareq Salem Alhawi, who is detained by the Preventive Security Service in Ramallah, stating that on 10/12/2018, he went to the Preventive Security Service’s headquarter to visit his client, but the officers refused his request, claiming that the lawyer’s visit is only allowed on Tuesdays.

The lawyer added that he returned on Tuesday, 11/12/2018, to visit his client, but when he entered the HQ, the Service’s legal counsel informed him that visits can be only permitted for checking on the detainee’s health without discussing the details of the case! which prompted the lawyer to refuse the visit on these terms, noting that he contacted the Palestinian Bar Association in this regard, which, on its behalf, coordinated with the Service’s council, however, the lawyer was prevented from sitting with his client alone and was restricted from talking to him.

MUSAWA- the Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession believes that the complaint, if true, entails a violation of the fair trial guarantees, the right to defense, and the Code of Criminal Procedures, which all guaranteed the right of the accused to communicate with his/her lawyer, without any restriction, under all circumstances and as quickly as possible, given that article 103 of the Code of Criminal Procedures provides for “The Attorney General may, in cases of felonies and in the interests of the investigation, decide to prohibit communication with the accused for a period not exceeding ten days, subject to renewal once. The prohibition shall not apply to the lawyer of the accused, who may communicate with his client at any time he wishes without constraint or supervision”, and article 12 of the Basic Law provides for “Every arrested or detained person shall be informed of the reason for their arrest or detention. They shall be promptly informed, in a language they understand, of the nature of the charges brought against them. They shall have the right to contact a lawyer and to be tried before a court without delay”. Thus, we ask your Excellency to address our memo and to take the necessary legal action in its regard in a manner that ensures the detainee’s right to communicate with his lawyer without any restrictions and to carry out an investigation concerning the Police’s exceeding its powers and violating the provisions of the Basic Law and the Code of Criminal Procedures, and to hold accountable the one who is responsible of hindering the lawyer’s constitutional right to meet his client at any time, enabling him from carrying out his  mission duly.

With All Due Respect

Issued on 16/12/2018

Legal Monitoring Officer

Angham Mansour

Attachments:

A copy of the complaint.