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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2002)
Prosecutors indict Palestinian leader for attacks By Sudarsan Raghavan TEL AVTV, Israel (KRT) — Vowing that the “uprising will be victori ous,” Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti raised his cuffed hands defiantly at a packed courtroom on Wednesday, minutes before he was indicted for masterminding the killings of dozens of Israelis. Barghouti’s courtroom outburst set the stage for a raucous, confrontation al trial scheduled to start on Sept. 5. Israel will attempt to prove com plicity of senior Palestinian leaders in dozens of attacks on Israeli civil ians, while Barghouti made clear his intention to turn the trial into a political indictment of the Israeli government. The trial is the first civilian crimi nal proceeding against a senior Pales tinian leader since the second Pales tinian uprising began 23 months ago. Pounding his clasped hands in die air like a hammer, Barghouti yelled in a mix of Hebrew, Arabic and Eng lish for an end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as if he was speaking at a political rally. “The Israeli nation is paying a heavy price for its government’s policies,” declared the unshaven Barghouti, 43, dressed in brown Is raeli prison overalls. Barghouti was charged Wednes day with murder, attempted murder, and active participation in terrorist groups, among other allegations. He was not asked to make a formal plea. The seven-count indictment al leges that he was behind 37 separate attacks on Israelis over the past two years, the deadliest of which was an attack in January that killed six peo ple in a banquet hall in Hadera. The indictment also said that Barghouti reported directly to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, suggesting that Arafat had knowl edge of the attacks. His lawyers denied the Israeli al legations. Israel prosecutors say he is the main organizer of the A1 Aqsa Mar tyrs’ Brigades, a group linked to Arafat’s Fatah faction that is behind many suicide bombings and shoot ing ambushes. During the trial, Israeli prosecu tor Devorah Chen said she would present testimony from Al Aqsa militants, many of them in Israeli jails, and activists, including two of Barghouti’s deputies, Nasser Abu Hmeid and Nasser Awaid. She would also present alleged confessions Barghouti made during interrogation, and documents that Is raeli soldiers seized during raids of Palestinian offices earlier this year. If convicted, Barghouti could face life in prison. His lawyer, Jawad Boulos, denied that his client made any confessions. Boulos added that Israel had no ju risdiction to try Barghouti because as a Palestinian politician he has diplo matic immunity. Israel violated in ternational laws by arresting him in a Palestinian city of Ramallah and taking him to Israel, he said. “Marwan has prepared a list of charges against Israel and the Israeli occupation,” Jawad Boulos, Bargh outi’s lawyer told reporters. “We will try to convince the world that the one that has to be brought to tri al is the occupation.” Boulos said he did not plan to call any witnesses because an Israeli court had no authority to try Barghouti. “Our position is that we will not recognize the competency of the court to try Marwan,” said Boulos. Chen said Israel had every right to bring charges against Barghouti. “Barghouti is responsible for the murder of hundreds of Israeli civil ians and soldiers of Israel,” she said. “So it’s quite obvious that the court in Israel has the authority to get an indictment.” Boulos told Judge Tzvi Gurfinkel that at the Sept. 5 hearing, his client would bring an indictment against Israel. The judge warned that he would not allow Barghouti to “turn this court into a political stage.” But Barghouti got up and de manded to be heard. “When can I speak? I have a charge sheet with 50 clauses against Israel for the bloodshed of both peoples,” he said in Hebrew. The judge responded: “Right now you can’t speak. You have ex cellent lawyers. When the time comes, you can speak.” © 2002, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. Nevada voters to decide whether to legalize recreational pot By V. Dion Haynes LAS VEGAS (KRT) — Nevada es tablished its renegade reputation in the 1920s, when local leaders thumbed their noses at the federal ban on alcohol, with one mayor openly threatening to put “a barrel of whiskey with a dipper” on every street comer. Now the state, regarded by many as the sin capital of America, is again pioneering a new frontier: the legal ization of recreational pot smoking. In November, Nevada voters will decide whether to become the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, for quantities of 3 ounces or less, for adults 21 and old er. If the measure passes in Novem ber and again in November 2004 as required for amendments to the state constitution, Nevada also would tax marijuana and establish a system for distributing the drug. Last week, the state’s largest law enforcement group, the Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs, endorsed the initiative, saying de criminalizing marijuana would free officers to concentrate more on “life-threatening and serious inci dents.” But Friday, the group re versed the endorsement and fired its president, Andy Anderson, cit ing a “misunderstanding.” “What this does is allow re spectable people to use marijuana in their homes and bans it every place else,” said Billy Rogers, spokesman for Nevadans for Re sponsible Law Enforcement, the measure’s sponsor. “This will allow law enforce ment to concentrate on more seri ous criminals: terrorists, rapists, murderers,” Rogers said. “We want equal rights with peo ple who use alcohol and tobacco,” said Mikki Morris, director of the Northern California-based Cannabis Consumers Campaign. Most states have lowered marijua na possession charges from a felony, punishable by a mandatory prison sentence, to a misdemeanor or a fin able offense. Yet in 2000, some 743,000 people nationwide were imprisoned for marijuana posses sion, the highest number ever. No organized effort has yet formed in Nevada to oppose the measure. But the initiative is facing harsh criticism from the federal government. “This is the wrong message to send, the wrong program for Neva da,” said DEA spokesman Will Glaspy. “We will respond to this in a way similar to the approach used for the cannabis buyers clubs. This is still against federal law.” Other opponents say the Nevada measure is a well-orchestrated, well-financed attempt by propo nents to achieve the eventual legal ization of all drugs. Robert Maginnis, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, asserts that arguments about compassionate use of med ical marijuana are merely a smoke screen by proponents who want to liberalize laws to allow recreational use of pot. “We’ve got to make sure we’re not comparing age-old memories of Woodstock with what’s going on to day,” Maginnis said. “Today’s cannabis is much more potent,” he said. According to the DEA, the level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, has risen to 7 percent from less than 1 per cent in 1974. “You’ll get addicted much faster.” Along with the quality, the price of marijuana varies widely across the country — from $400 to $5,000 a pound. The Nevada initiative would require the state to establish a price, a tax structure and distribution system for marijuana. The issues of quality and purity aren’t addressed, but that is something that the state most like ly would have to consider. “We spell out that it couldn’t be sold in places that allow gaming ... and that the establishments would have to go through a licensing process,” said Rogers of the initia tive campaign. “What (the distribution system) would look like is impossible to say. ” ©2002, Chicago Tribune. • One of the IARGEST selections of USED BOOKS! • Shop online at ecampns.com 24 hours a day! • Shipping right to your door! • No lines, no hassles! • Guaranteed low prices! • Also And DVD's, CD's college & greek apparel, laptops, at prices lower than your college bookstore! mmm Books and Stuff. .Cheap. Call Toll Free 1.877.ecampus or visit us online at http://www.ecampus.com. REE T-Shirt Enter coupon code "tlOO" at checkout
