In a demonstration in Jerusalem yesterday (22.8.2020), once again the police acted violently against protestors. During and following the protest, photos surfaced which document one of the superior officers on the ground, Chief Superintendent Niso Guetta, Operations Division Officer, hitting and assaulting protestors. This morning (23.8.2020) we appealed to the Acting Commissioner of the Police demanding the immediate suspension of Chief Superintendent Guetta until the completion of the investigation in his case.
In the appeal, Attorney Oded Feller, Director of ACRI’s Legal Department, wrote that while there may have been a reason to upset Chief Superintendent Guetta - it cannot possibly justify such a violent response by an officer, and that no other officer would be allowed to continue serving for even a second after acting the way Chief Superintendent Guetta did.
“The police are responsible for protecting the public, and fulfilling human rights,” the appeal said. “We appreciate and honor its service - always and especially during these difficult times. Still, we cannot come to terms with the violence from within the police, which has became a malignant cancer. The superior command must at once conduct an internal investigation, and urgently impose across all organization levels a restraint of force, a restraint of contact with the public, and an awareness to the fact the police will not tolerate violence of its own people.”