A religious soldier was sentenced to 20 days in military prison after protesting outside the office of Aluf Avi Bluth, commander of the IDF's Central Command, against administrative orders and the detention of settler Tal Yinon Dardik.
The soldier arrived several days ago at Central Command headquarters in Jerusalem, where Aluf Bluth's office is located, and held signs reading "Avi Bluth - stop the administrative orders" and "Avi Bluth - stop persecuting Tal Yinon Dardik." On Monday evening, he was tried in a military court at Nitzanim base and sentenced to 20 days in military prison, which he began serving immediately. Honenu, the legal-aid organization, is providing legal support and representation.
During the protest, the soldier was arrested by police called to the scene by Central Command personnel and taken to the Neve Yaakov police station. Following intervention by Attorney Daniel Shimshilashvili of Honenu, he was released. At the time of the arrest, Shimshilashvili said: "The soldier chose to express his protest lawfully, and the Israel Police erred in arresting him. A soldier who comes and protests lawfully should be treated like any other soldier who received permission to protest when the demonstrations were from 'the right side.' We will insist that he be allowed the right to protest."
