Last update - 01:39 12/01/2005
Fahima to file release motion
By Zvi
Harel
Tali Fahima's lawyers will use an "equity" defense, arguing that most of the charges against the woman accused of aiding Palestinian terrorists are inconsequential and that justice requires she be released from custody and not put on trial.
Nevertheless, proceedings against her began yesterday in Tel Aviv District Court with the reading of charges against the 29-year-old - aiding the enemy during wartime, contact with foreign agents, supporting a terrorist organization, illegal possession of a weapon and violating a lawful order. Dozens of her supporters attended the opening of the trial, saying that the state is prosecuting Fahima for political reasons.
The actual trial is slated to begin on January 16, but Fahima's attorney told the court that she intends to present preliminary motions before then. The defense will file a motion to dismiss some or all of the charges, on the basis that, even if Fahima did in fact commit a crime, it was trivial.
According to the charges, Fahima helped Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades members, including the organization's Jenin commander, Zacharia Zubeidi, evade capture during an Israel Defense Forces operation. She is also accused of translating a secret map accidently left behind by the IDF that included details on an upcoming operation to arrest wanted Palestinians.
Fahima denies the charges, arguing - among other things - that Zubeidi and his associates speak Hebrew and therefore do not need her as a translator.
"For half a year I have been kept in isolation and haven't been allowed to speak," Fahima said before the hearing. In a letter distributed to Fahima's supporters, Zubeidi and other residents of the Jenin refugee camp said they are "strengthening her spirit. ... the Israelis are afraid that you will lead to hundreds of Tali Fahimas. The are afraid that many Israelis will cross the fence and see the truth," the letter said.
Fahima has been held in administrative detention since September 2004, because of the state's contention that the evidence against her was confidential. According to the prosecution, the evidence that served as the basis for her detention relates to far more serious accusations, but charges on those grounds have not been filed because the evidence is sensitive from a security point of view.