Knesset passes bill that could put asylum seekers in jail without trial

[Jefferson23]

Lawmakers objecting to the bill say it is undemocratic, unconstitutional and runs contrary to Israel's international obligations to human rights.

By Jonathan Lis

The second and third readings of a bill to deter migrant workers from entering Israel continued late into Monday night in the Knesset plenum. The bill would make illegal migrants and asylum seekers liable to jail, without trial or deportation, if caught staying in Israel for long periods. In addition, anyone helping migrants or providing them with shelter could face prison sentences of between five and 15 years.

Lawmakers who objected to the bill said it was undemocratic, unconstitutional and ran contrary to Israel's international obligations and human rights.

During the debate last night the bill's sponsors said the penalty for assisting migrants did not apply to organizations or people who provide humanitarian aid. The Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee adopted a reservation stipulating that people who aid the migrants would only be penalized if the migrants were involved in illegal activity, such as possession of weapons or trafficking drugs or women.

The bill would amend the Prevention of Infiltration Law of 1954, passed to prevent the entry of Palestinian terrorists as part of emergency legislation. The new bill is expanded to address migrant workers or asylum seekers who enter Israel without posing a threat to Israel's security.

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/knesset-passes-bill-that-could-put-asylum-seekers-in-jail-without-trial-1.406351

[LeftishBrit]

1. Imitating the worst aspects of Britain?

[bemildred]

2. Putting people in jail without trial is popular all over.

So simple, so direct, no messy explanations to make, ...

[Jefferson23]

3. Control freaks..they seem to get away with it through fear mongering.

They're certainly good at it in the U.S. too.

[Jefferson23]

4. Israel's anti-infiltration law is a disgrace

Any detention without trial is an extreme act that should be foreign to a law-abiding state, much more so when the victims are work migrants who harbor no ill intentions against the state.

Haaretz Editorial

Of all the antidemocratic laws that have descended on us of late, it is perhaps the most shameful. After a long, late-night session on Monday the Knesset plenum approved the second and third reading of an amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law. Only eight Knesset members voted against the amendment, while 37 supported it.

From now on, work seekers from Africa who enter Israel illegally can be imprisoned for three years, without the benefit of a trial and without any distinction between asylum seekers and labor migrants. Anyone who aids migrants who smuggle drugs or weapons, including by providing shelter, could also face a lengthy sentence. Even the courageous objections of Knesset legal advisor Eyal Yinon were to no avail, and the law was passed.

Words fail in the face of such a disgraceful act of legislation. Sending desperate human beings, who come to Israel to find gainful employment, to jail for an extended period is completely antidemocratic and inhuman. Any detention without trial is an extreme act that should be foreign to a law-abiding state, much more so when the victims are work migrants who harbor no ill intentions against the state. The fact that the original law from 1954 was aimed at the fedayeen and Palestinian refugees seeking to return to their homes, if only to salvage some of their belongings, after the 1948 War, only underscores its problematic nature. If during the state's early years it was somehow possible to accept such a draconian law, in 2012, when those who cross the border illegally do not pose a genuine security threat, sending them to prison for such a long period is intolerable.

The problem of the labor migrants must be solved in other ways, certainly not through long incarceration without trial. Israel has the right to close its borders and set its own immigration policy, like the world's most developed nations. But it does not have the right to imprison people - some of whom have been recognized as refugees, to whom no door should be closed and certainly not that of Israel. On Monday a jingoistic and unnecessary law that is unlikely to solve the problem for which it was intended was added to Israel's legal code.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-s-anti-infiltration-law-is-a-disgrace-1.406653

[Jefferson23]

5. New law jails asylum-seekers for longest in West

Amnesty International says no other country in the world has a detention center of the size Israel plans to build to enforce the law, which will have room for 10,000 inmates.

By Dana Weiler-Polak

A new law passed by the Knesset Monday night will make Israel the developed country that detains illegal immigrants without trial for the longest period, according to data collected by Amnesty International's Israel office.

The law allows people who enter Israel illegally to be incarcerated for up to three years.

Amnesty's data also shows that no other country in the world has a detention center of the size Israel plans to build to enforce the law: It will have room for 10,000 inmates.

"When you compare the Israeli law to laws in Western countries, you can see that three years is extraordinary," said Sara Robinson, refugee rights coordinator for Amnesty International Israel. "Even when you look at the situation in countries where the law does not put a limit on detention for asylum-seekers, you can see that in fact, the average detention is shorter than in Israel."

Under current law, which will remain in force until the newly-passed law to prevent illegal entry takes effect, a person who enters Israel illegally and cannot be deported under international law may be held in detention for up to 60 days.

The Amnesty International comparison paper notes that in June 2008, all European Union countries except Britain and Ireland ratified an ordinance that limits the detention of illegal immigrants to six months, which can be extended to 18 months under special circumstances.

Even in Britain, which refused to approve the ordinance and does not define a maximum detention term for illegal immigrants, figures from 2009 and 2010 show that people who entered the country illegally were detained for no more than six months.

in full: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/new-law-jails-asylum-seekers-for-longest-in-west-1.406607