On 4.3.2021, we appealed to the Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Health in opposition to the memorandum that seeks to allow the use of electronic bracelets and other technological surveillance means on individuals returning from outside the country and mandated to quarantine. In the appeal, Attorney Oded Feller, Director of the Legal Department at ACRI, emphasized the short time afforded to the public to respond to the memorandum, which demonstrates that the government has no intention or ability to accommodate the sum of the public’s comments and change its course.
Furthermore, Attorney Feller mentions that even in a severe crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, not every action is legitimate. ACRI does not oppose mandating those returning into the country to be in quarantine. However, in our position, the option should be home quarantine or, for those who cannot quarantine at home, an alternative and adequate living solution should be provided with all needs met. Quarantine can be enforced, and anyone who breaks it may be sanctioned, but there should not be a technological surveillance against all individuals in isolation, which effectively violates their rights to privacy and human dignity.
The appeal state that “a democratic society cannot dispel its fears of potential dangers by attaching means of surveillance to its citizens. Not in an emergency, not in a pandemic, not in routine.”