Supreme Court Agrees to Transfer MK Bishara’s Trial from Jerusalem to Nazareth Court

Today, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Aharon Barak decided to transfer the trial against Member of Knesset (MK) Dr. Azmi Bishara from the Jerusalem Magistrate Court to the Nazareth Magistrate Court. The Attorney General had filed two indictments against Dr. Bishara; the first concerning political speeches made by Dr. Bishara in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Fahim and Syria, and the second concerning a series of visits to Syria in which Dr. Bishara assisted elderly Palestinian citizens of Israel to visits relatives they had not seen since 1948. The Attorney General filed the first indictment before the Jerusalem Magistrate Court, and the second indictment before the Nazareth Magistrate Court. Hearings on the second indictment began on 10 December 2001 in Nazareth.

Dr. Bishara filed the request to Chief Justice Barak through his attorney, Adalah General Director Hassan Jabareen, based on the proximity of the Nazareth Magistrate Court to the residences of the vast majority of the witnesses in the trial as well as Dr. Bishara himself. In the request, Mr. Jabareen argued that the prosecution had no basis for filing the indictment before the Jerusalem Magistrate Court given the nature of the indictment, which relates strictly to the north of Israel. Mr. Jabareen accused the prosecution of acting arbitrarily, with the intention of damaging the defense of Dr. Bishara.

Chief Justice Barak wrote in his decision, “After I considered the request and the Attorney General’s reaction, I was convinced that the request should be accepted. Indeed, the extensive time [Dr. Bishara] spends in Jerusalem had some weight in the consideration. And though it is clear that the prosecution has the discretion to press charges against a defendant in the location of their choosing, the convenience of the defendant might reflect in the decision when there are obvious factors to consider. In this case, there is no disputing that the majority of the witnesses that will be invited to testify by both the defendants and the prosecution live in the north of the country. Bishara himself lives in Nazareth, and he has already begun defending himself before the Nazareth Magistrate Court [in hearings relating to the second indictment filed against him.] The prosecution itself admits that it does not have much material evidence to present and that the bulk of its case lies in basic legal arguments. I doubted the fears raised by the prosecution that a transference would delay the case when it would greatly convenience Dr. Bishara, and such is the case in the present circumstances. Therefore, the trial shall be transferred to the Nazareth Magistrate Court.”