Adalah Submits a Motion to the Commission Opposing Closed Hearings for the GSS
On 24 January 2002, Adalah filed a motion to the official Commission of Inquiry into the October 2000 protest demonstrations (“the Commission”) on behalf of the families of 13 Palestinian citizens killed by the Israeli police, requesting that the Commission reconsider its decision to hold a closed hearing for General Security Services (GSS or “the Shabak”) witnesses. The motion asks that the Commission open the 31 January 2002 hearing to the public.
In the motion, Adalah argued that the decision to hold in camera hearings violates the rights of the victims’ parents as well as the rest of the public to attend the hearings. Article 3 of the Basic Law: Judiciary (1981) guarantees the right of the public to attend court hearings. Similarly, Article 18 of the Commissions of Inquiry Law (1968) guarantees the right of the public to attend the hearings of the Commission. The Commission’s mandate relates to the reasons for the October 2000 demonstrations and the authorities’ reaction to those protests; it does not concern “national security.” The Commission’s decision to hold a closed hearing for GSS witnesses also contradicts a previous decision issued on 11 March 2001. In that instance, the Commission rejected a police officer’s request to testify behind a screen in order to protect his identity. The Commission reasoned that the public had a fundamental right to witness the hearing. Moreover, many police intelligence officers have testified before the Commission in open proceedings.
Adalah further argued that GSS witnesses regularly testify in open court, and are subject to cross-examination by defense lawyers. Although the GSS may request that the court close the proceedings to the public, defense lawyers often successfully challenge such requests on due process grounds (e.g., right to know, right to receive and examine evidence, etc.).
Moreover, the Landau Commission, which examined GSS investigatory practices, namely the use of torture, found in 1987 that GSS witnesses routinely lied before official judicial and administrative bodies and tampered with evidence. In addition, the State Comptroller investigated the activities of the GSS during 1988-1992, the period of the first Intifada, and issued a “secret report” on its findings. As a result of a Supreme Court petition, the State Comptroller was compelled to issue a public summary of its conclusions. The State Comptroller’s Report (2000) provides this summary, which notes that these investigators concurred with the findings of the Landau Commission - that the GSS frequently misrepresents the truth of their activities and behavior during investigations - and that the norm of lying still prevailed within the culture of the GSS.
Given these precedents, the public has a particular interest in attending the hearings of GSS witnesses, who have a history of misrepresentation and falsifying testimonies. By deciding to protect interests of the GSS, the Commission has made a drastic and disproportionate choice, which will undermine the trust of the public, including the victims’ families, in its proceedings and conclusions.
