Dear Honorable Commissioner Marhgaret Sekagiya - Copy

7/29/2019 Dear Honorable Commissioner Marhgaret Sekagiya - Copy

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CHILDREN & FAMILY COALITION ISRAELAssociation Peace and Justice for Sephardic Jews in Israel

89- 91 Rue Faubourg Saint Honore, 75008 PARIS, FRANCE, Fax +44-843-265-

3586Email: [email protected]

September 9, 2013Honorable Commissioner Margaret SekaggyaP.O. Box 3176, Kampala, Uganda.

Tel. No: 256-414-348007/8/10/14Residence Telephone No: 256-414-270160Mobile No: 256-772-788821, Fax No: 256-414-255261

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Re: Harassment of Human Rights Defenders in IsraelInvitation to visit Israel

Intervention in policy Immunizing Judges fromTestifying in criminal cases

Dear Honorable Commissioner Margaret Sekaggya:

The Coalition for Children and Family, a UN Civil Society, wouldlike to invite you to Israel to examine first-hand the situation offreedom defenders, in general, and of the defenders who fightinjustice in the family and juvenile courts.

These family and juvenile courts are secret closed door courts,with almost no rules of procedure, capricious judges (issuance oforders or judgments at whim, refusal to allow right of argument,minimal transcription in writing of the sessions), obstacles to fair

trial (refusal to call witnesses, refusal to summon records, refusalto set court dates, refusal to allow private experts, denial of rightsto cross examine). These are just some examples, which result inparents not able to see their children, parents who are needlesslyarrested, impoverished, and humiliated parents.

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In particular four freedom defenders in the area of family rightsstand out, as they are being targeted by authorities in Israel viapolice and the press to be silenced, harassed and hounded: AmirShipperman, Guy Shamir, Ms. Lori Shem Tov and Yaakov Ben

Isaschar.

The very few who stand up to this capricious system by writingand exposing deficiencies and failures of the Judiciary, and thosewho demonstrate, find themselves being constantly targeted bythe police and other law enforcement (in particular the ComputerFrauds Units across the country, and the Israeli equivalent of theFBI, LAHAV 433.

We call your intervention on an urgent basis to ask the Israeli

authorities to immediately cease and desist from practices thatoffend human rights and place the freedom defenders at risk theirlives and liberties. The perpetrators include the chief of Police,heads of the Judiciary, including the President of the SupremeCourt Judge, Asher Grunis, the Chief of the Court Administration,Michael Scpitzer, and the Minister of Justice, Ms. Tzipora Livni.

The practices requiring intervention are:

(a) Judges in Israel are immune from testifying in criminalcases where they are the real complainant. Accordingto the secret practice promulgated by Mr. Grunis andMs. Livni, when indictments are filed against thefreedom defender by a Judge, the criminal court refuseto summon the real complainant, the Judge to testifyabout what happened. Thus, the defendant is withoutaccess to exculpating evidence.

(b) The police itself opens police complaints without a livehuman being complainant, which in these case arefamily court judges. Again, a secret practice endorsedby Mr. Asher Grunis and Ms. Zipi Livni allows the policeto take complaints from Judges against freedomdefenders who demonstrate or write critique of thefamily courts in blogs and other internet media. Usuallythese complaints by Judges are based on insult laws, or

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allegations of some threat emanating from the peacefuldemonstration or the writing in the internet. Thecomplaints are opened in the police without a livehuman being complainant. In other words, the Judge

who complains at the police is not docketed ascomplainant. Instead, it is the Security Unit of theAdministration of the Courts, who is registered as acomplainant.

(c) The Government leaks to the media reports thatparticipation in civil vigil protests against family court

judges will result in arrests and other unspecifiedpunishments. For example, newspaper HARETZreported that According to Mr. Grunis if any more

demonstrations are organized against family courtjudges, the demonstrators will face extraordinarymeasures approved by him in conjunction with theIsrael Police Chiefs.

(d) Daily surveillance by police of blogs and facebookactivity. It has been reported that the police compiledblack list of freedom defenders in the area of familylaw, and all their activities on facebook and internet are

recorded daily.

These complaints concern four (4) freedom defenders:

I. AMIR SHIPPERMAN

1. Amir Shipperman, age 30, father to a daughter age 3, andin divorce proceedings since she was 6 months old. Thefamily court judge forbade him from seeing his daughter fortwo years. Eventually she allowed him one hour a week.

2. Status of victim as human rights defender: Shipperman isone of the founders of Israels fathers rights group Alef zeAba in facebook containing 2,500 members. He personallyreceived phone calls from fathers on the verge of distressand suicide and helps them gain courage and mental powers

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to face the inevitable separation from the children. Heparticipates in vigil protests in front of judges and recently infront of the minister of Justice, Tzipy Livni. As one of thefamous representatives of mens rights in Israel, he is in

contact with the Livni assistants to discuss reformation ofthe family laws. He also organizes conferences on thestatus of fatherhood in Israel, and appears frequently ontelevision.

3. Description of the violations: His own family court Judge, Ms,Esther Stein, filed a police complaint against him forallegedly writing against her words she perceived as aninsult, in connection with a Youtube video featuring ademonstration on July 31, 2012 under her apartment.

Allegedly she was insulted during the demonstration in thecity of Petach Tikva on that date. Again, the complaint wasdocketed as if the Security Unit of Court administration is thecomplainant.

Judge Esther Shtein (family Court in Rishon Leziyon) made aname for herself as a Judge that does not let any man seehis own children during the pendency of divorceproceedings, and only one hour a week thereafter. This

brutal and discriminatory bias was the subject of thedemonstration under her apartment, where her ownneighbors joined the protestors.

The Judge filed a complaint against Shipperman, but it wasdocketed as a complaint from the Security Unit of theAdministration of the Court. He was investigatedextensively at the police about organizing demonstrationsand his computer was seized so as to gain privateinformation about other belonging to fathers rights groups.No indictment was filed yet, but should one be filed, thenunder the unpublished guideline of President Judge AsherGrunis, he will be barred from calling Judge Esther Shtein,the complainant, from testifying in the same trial where sheis the alleged complaining victim.

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4. The Perpetrators: Judge Esther Shtein of family court inRishon LeZion (who filed the baseless complaint), JudgeAsher Grunis who issued the secret guideline that Judges arenot docketed as complainant and are exempt from

testimony in their own case, and Yohanan Danino, Chief ofthe Police who refuses to follow the laws which allowdemonstrations anywhere in the country, and also allowspolice precincts to docket complaints without a human beingcomplainant.

5. Action by authorities: Following the demonstration in frontof Judge Esther Shtein , Shipperman was called to the police,interrogated extensively and menacingly, and his computerwas seized. His family case was transferred to another

Judge. Several months later, an article appeared in thepress, reported by Revital Hovel in Haaretz on October 2,2012, and stating that Chief President of the Supreme Court,Grunis, met with Chief of Court Administration, Mr. Schpitzer,together with Chief of police Yohanan Danino, and YoavSegalovich, as well as Attorney Generals Moshe Lador and

Yehuda Weinstein who announced that new tools will beused against anybody demonstrating against a Judge.

6. Link between the violation and HR work: The fact that 6persons at the top positions in the country: the top judge,the top administrative judge, the two top law enforcementmen, and the two top attorney generals in charge of theAdministrative authorities of the State convene together,and devise secret new tools that will be implementedagainst anybody daring to peacefully demonstrate in front ofa corrupt Judge creates a chilling effect on the ability offreedom defenders to mobilize victims and abused personsto fight for their rights. Since that article, no demonstrationwas organized in front of the Judge for fear of theserepercussions.

7. This complaint is presented to the UN-HRC by the IsraelCoalition for Children and Family (www.ccfisrael.org/eng), acivil society listed with the UN.

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II. GUY SHAMIR

1. Mr. Shamir is almost 40 years old with 2 children in divorce.

The Judge in his divorce case, Esperanza Alon, told him thatchildren dont need fathers and that the fathers job is just topay the child support and the former wifes rent. When the

judge denied him the right to see his children, he co-foundedAlef Ze Aba with Shipperman and Ben Issachar.

2. Status of the Victim as a human rights defender: As co-founder of Alef Ze Aba he is the liaison with other civil rightsgroups. Shamir appeared at Parliament hearings, andassembled 1,000 members, fathers without rights. Shamir

filed 10 Supreme Court petitions against various arms of theGovernment on behalf of the public (to finalize twoparliamentary committees recommendations that areprocrastinated 7 years, to abolish discrimination against menin child access matters, to abolish discrimination againstmen in child support, to abolish Attorney General Guideline2.5 exempting women from prosecution for false complaints,to add male members to other Ministry of JusticeCommittees, to close the nefarious child prisons called

Merkaz Kesher, and others. All cases were dismissedwithout a hearing, at the behest of Judge Asher Grunis.

3. Description of the violations: To deter Mr. Shamir frompolitical activities to change the laws , and from filing morecases in the Supreme Court, a police complaint was filedagainst him by the secretary of judge Esperanza Alon (familycourt in Haifa). This Judge has warned him that if hecontinues in his political and protest activities (includingappearances at Parliamentary committee hearings), she willpersonally deny him the right to see his two children.

Judge Alon had her secretary made an entrapment call to Mr.Shamir and provoked him by telling him that a decision wasissued giving custody of the children to his wife, with novisitations to him. Thereafter the secretary, Ms. Keren Peles,

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who initiated the phone call, filed a complaint citing threat tothe life of the Judges children.

All Shamirs efforts to summon Judge Esperanza Alon to

testify in the trial where she is the alleged victim, have beenmet with denial. Mr. Shamir ended up in detention for 40days in a top security facility, because his criminal case wasfiled in the same court where Esperanza is working, and sheadmittedly asked the Judges assigned to his criminal case(Ayelet Hoch-Tal, Orit Kantor) to be harsh with him, and notrelease him on bail, so that he learn the lesson. The caseis awaiting trial in the Nazareth District.

4. The Perpetrators: Judge Esperanza Alon (the complainant),

Judge Asher Grunis (who personally came to visit EsperanzaAlon in Haifa to show support in September 2012, and isresponsible for the policy that Judges do not testify) . JudgeNechama Munitz at the Nazareth criminal court who refusesto summon Esperanza Alon as a witness.

5. Action by authorities: After 40 days in detention that endedin September 2012, he was released to a home arrest for afew months, and later allowed to be at liberty except travel

into the city of Haifa, where Esperanza resides. Applicationto summon Judge Esperanza Alon was denied by a districtCourt Judge in Nazareth Ms. Nechama Zimering Munitz whotold him she expects him to confess.

In retaliation, Judge Grunis denied application to transfer hisfamily case away from the Haifa district. Applications madeto file a tort claim in forma pauperis were denied, eventhough Shamir is without a job, ability to work, or any fundswhatsoever.

6. Link between the violation and HR work: Shamirs arrestwas covered by alternative media and followed by manyamong civil rights protestors. The message that emanatesfrom this fiasco is that if you mess with the Judiciary, itretaliates by disengaging you from your children andopening criminal cases against you.

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III. LORI SHEM-TOV

1. Lori Shem Tov is a journalist and blogger who exposes andwrites about decisions of family judges who offend dueprocess, and abuse citizens rights, especially denials ofrights to access children. Ms. Shem Tov was called to thepolice and to the FBI Unit (Lahav 433) to respond tocomplaint initiated by Judge Tova Sivan in connection with a

demonstration in front of her mansion in the city of RamatHasharon, and in connection with criticism on some of this

Judges decisions and judgments. Also her own Judge NaftaliShilo complained against her. Possibly other Judgescomplained against her as well.

At police interrogations, the policemen refuse to tell her whothe complaints are, and what is the substance of the criminalcomplaints. Again, if an indictment is filed against her, she

will not be able to summon as witnesses the same Judgesthat complained against her.

2. Status of victim as human rights defender: Shem Tovsblogs and critique of family Judges on he internet serves asone of the primary and only tool for parents abused by thesystem to learn how to cope with abuse and denial ofparental rights. Her blogs network is one of the only sourcesof information to parents in distress, as the Governmentdoes not publish the laws anywhere, and the cases are alsounpublished, thus leaving the public without any informationto learn how to cope.

3. Description of the violations: In order to deter Shem Tovfrom publishing corruption and abuses of parents at familyand juvenile courts, she is often called to be interrogated atthe Police Lahav 433 unit. She has been prevented from

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seeing her children, in particular the older one, and isthreatened that if she does not delete the critique she willnever see her children again.

In addition, because she participated in demonstration infront of Tova Sivans house, Tova Sivan filed criminalcharges against her.

Also two figures at the Ministry of Welfare, Meir Cohen andYosi Silman have threatened her that she will be punished,unless she deletes information as to the work of socialworkers who separate between children and parents.

4. The Perpetrators: Judges Tova Sivan, Naftali shilo and

Michael Schpitzer (head of Court Administration) whocomplained against her. Also, from the Ministry of WelfareMeir Cohen and Yosi Silman.

5. Action by authorities: Shem Tov is called to the police everyfew months to be investigated about critiques of the family

judiciary. In addition, the officials at Court Administrationreported on Haaretz newspaper that they have asked lawenforcement in Israel to approach Google and YouTube to

delete critique and blogs, and to direct Israels internetsuppliers to block contents in Israel, so the public cannotread the criticism.

6. Link between the violation and HR work. Shem Tov iseducating the public how to defend themselves againstsocial workers and Judges who abuse parental rights. Shealso represents a non-profit charity Alia, to support womenwhose children are taken for foster care and adoptions. Thatis the reason why the officials want to silence her.


IV. YAAKOV BEN ISASCHAR

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1. Yaakov Ben Isaschar is a reporter, a blogger and activists,especially in the area of coerced removal of children fromnormative parents and their outplacement to foster homes

and closed outplacement facilities. He is 45 years old. Inthe past his younger daughter, during divorce, expressed awish to live with her father and not the mother. In retaliationthe Israeli family court ordered the girl locked up in a closedinstitution for three months or until she agrees to live withthe mother, and a psychiatric evaluation was ordered (anddefeated) in order to dissuade him from fighting custody.

Ben Issaschars 4 year struggle to rescue his daughter isdocumented in a 90 minute feature film Zchut Avot, which

periodically shown on Israel Channel 1 TV. Since then hehas vowed to assist any parent who is confronted with socialworkers and judges who separate between children andparents (of both sexes).

2. Status of victim as human rights defender: Ben Issascharregularly appears in Parliamentary sessions concerningfamily rights and parental rights vis a vis the powers of theWelfare authorities and Judges to arbitrarily separate

children from loving parents. He organizes demonstrationsof victims including a recent demonstration in front of theMinister of Welfare, Meir Cohen, where police greeted himwith violence, beat him and arrested him. He appears incourt cases on behalf of the non profit movement for theFuture of Our Children, as amicus curiae, especially whenimmigrants who cant speak Hebrew are called to courtwithout lawyers or translators. This affects many Ethiopiansand Russians, who needlessly and cruelly lose their children.

3. Description of the violations: Several Judges complainedagainst Mr. Ben Issachar in the past 12 months including:

Judge Galit Mor Vigotzki, (she complained that someone

overheard on August 3, 2011 allegedly talking in the Courtkiosk that he wants to hurt this Judge. This case is ininvestigation phase only. It was immediately leaked to

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the press by the Administration of the Courts so as todeter others, that the Judge is being intimidated, andneeds personal security. The report in Maariv, (2nd largestpublication, reporter Avi Ashkenazi) reported verbatim the

Court administrations press release, as is customary inIsraeli press (i.e., not allowing right of rebuttal in thepress).

Judge Nathan Nachmani. This is a double case. Currently,

trial is pending before Judge Itzhak Itzhaki presiding overa criminal trial. Judge Itzhaki refuses to allow BenIsaschar to call the complainant, Mr. Nachmani to givetestimony. In the past, on October 22, 2005, BenIssaschar participated in demonstration in front of the

residence of Judge Nachmani, and because of thisdemonstration he was indicted for insulting an official, aswell as trespass on the privacy of the Judge. The Judgeand the police sought to remand him until the end of trialon the allegation that he was psychotic. (See Crim.Case State of Israel v. Ben Issachar, before JudgeHadassah Naor, January 18, 2006).

Yoram Shaked, (complaining about negative reviews

about decisions he made written in a web site devoted toexposing inhumane court decisions, and allegedlyattributed to Ben Issasschar). This case is in investigationphase only.

Tova Sivan (complaining about a cartoon that appeared in

one of the Hebrew web pages). This case is ininvestigation phase only.

Tamar Snunit Forer, complained that she was insulted byan article that called her a vampire sucking mensblood. This case is in investigation phase only).

In addition, during a demonstration in front of the

residence of the minister of Welfare, Mr. Meir Cohen, inDimona in June 2013, the Minister of welfare Meir Cohen

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sent policemen with instructions to physically attack Mr.Ben Issaschar in order to scare him not to return toDimona.

4. The Perpetrators: See item 3.

5. Action by authorities: Ben Isaschar is inducted on severalcases started by Judges against him. There are stillinvestigations pending. The Government intends to block hisweb site from viewing within the State of Israel. He isconstantly harassed by police.

6. Link between the violation and HR work: Ben Issaschareducated the public and also assist the weak and feeble who

cannot afford a lawyer. He exposes Judges and socialworkers.


There are plenty more examples of Judges filing police complaints

without testifying at the police or at trial, but they are privateexamples.

For example, judge Rivka Mekayes filed a criminal complaintagainst Mr. Yossi Tzayeg for insulting her during a demonstrationwith 40 other men in front of her residence (reported in

Yedioth/Ynet by Raanan Ben Tzur July 26, 2009.

Judge Hanna Rothschild filed a criminal complaint against a fatherReuven Pincu whom she denied the right to see his child. Hecited in his own appeal papers another judge who said thatreckless judicial conduct will cause the next tragedy, and JudgeRothschild interpreted it as a threat to her. This resulted in a 7month prison term. It is reported by Michal Shapira in Maariv on

July 19, 2010.

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The urgency: See summary of report in Haaretz on August 28, 2013,Courts Administration seeks to block online criticism of judges. Agency asks

prosecutors to examine legal measures for closing down websites devoted to

slamming judges.

By Revital Hovel | Aug. 28, 2013 | 3:03 PM

The Courts Administration has asked the state prosecution to examine what

legal steps can be taken against websites that malign judges, including

whether they can be shut down.

This is the second time in the past year the Courts Administration hasmoved to examine ways to protect judges. In October, Haaretz reported that

Supreme Court President Asher Grunis and Courts Administration director

Michael Spitzer had asked Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and StateProsecutor Moshe Lador to look into banning demonstrations near judges

homes.

That move sparked public criticism, since demonstrations are permitted near

the residences of other public officials, including figures involved in lawenforcement such as prosecutors and police officers. One of the critics was

former Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, who wrote in his latest book,

Judges set idealistic standards for others, but encounter great difficultywhen the demand arises to apply those standards to the judges themselves.

Officials in the State Prosecutors Office view the judges latest request as abit extreme as well. Among other problems, any new laws passed to enable

the closure of websites devoted to criticizing judges would violate the rightto freedom of expression.

Judges who preside over divorce and child-custody cases, which are

routinely put under gag orders due to the sensitive nature of the cases, are

the most popular targets for criticism on these websites.

In summary, please schedule a country visit to Israel. Also,please intervene regarding the practices described above, and

the rights of the four freedom defenders listed above.

Sincerely,

Yaakov Ben Issasschar.

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Documents

Dear Honorable Commissioner Marhgaret Sekagiya - Copy