Justice for Iyad

18/06/20

More than 5,000 Zazim members joined the campaign launched by Free Jerusalem activists via “My Zazim,” our community campaign platform, demanding that the Department of Police Investigations (known by its Hebrew acronym, Machash) release the footage of Iyad al-Hallaq’s killing and bring the officers responsible to trial. 

Here’s what they said:

We can not imagine what Iyad al-Hallaq felt in his final horrific moments. Iyad, a 32 year old who was on the autism spectrum, was on his routine walk to the school where he learned when he was shot - repeatedly - to death, in a garbage room by the Lion Gate at Jerusalem’s Old City. We can not imagine, but we can demand the video footage of the series of police crimes that caused his death. The public must know what happened in those moments at the hands of uniformed officers. The truth must not be kept from us. 

Iyad’s murder was filmed by cameras in the area. Hiding these recordings and the truth therein from the eyes of the public is a distortion with zero legal justification. And so we demand - Machash, release the tapes. We can not permit the ongoing fabrication of stories and coordination of testimonies between police officers - the first interrogations have concluded and two officers who were at the scene are already walking free. 

The murder of Iyad is an inevitable consequence of violently controlling a population that has no hope on the political horizon to influence the military-police forces that oppresses it. We must organize and act to change this reality from the foundations up, and in the meanwhile - we must demand justice in this terrible, tragic killing. 

The footage must be released now - join us in demanding that Machash publicly release the video of the murder of Eyad al-Hallaq, and charge the officers with his killing!”