Doctor files complaint over violent detention by police at anti-government protest

Police violently arrest a doctor who had been treating an injured anti-government protester during a rally in Tel Aviv on June 8, 2024. (Social media/X. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Police violently arrest a doctor who had been treating an injured anti-government protester during a rally in Tel Aviv on June 8, 2024. (Social media/X. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A doctor who was violently detained by police at an anti-government protest three weeks ago has filed a complaint at the Department of Internal Police Investigations, Channel 12 news reports.

“When you look in-depth at the incident I went through, the police acted against the law,” Dr. Udi Baharav tells Channel 12.

“Even in policing there are clear laws,” he says. “There are laws on how the police should treat medical teams, and how the police should act with medical teams. Their duty is to help save human lives, their duty is to clear the area for this purpose, and what they did was exactly the opposite.”

“[The police] see people lying on the ground and instead of helping them, they just push and hit them,” he says.

The Department of Internal Police Investigations is under the auspices of the Justice Ministry, and investigates allegations of police brutality. It launched a probe of the incident involving Baharav following a demand by member organizations of the Israeli Medical Association.

Baharav, a 71-year-old retired internist and general practitioner, volunteers with an informally organized group of physicians, nurses and mental health professionals who attend rallies and protests.

Their purpose is to be on-hand within the crowd to treat anyone — protesters and police alike — injured or ill. The group members are visible by their clearly labeled orange or purple vests and headlamps that identify them as health aid personnel, and they make themselves known ahead of time to both civilians and security forces.

The June 8 incident involving Baharav provoked condemnation from opposition politicians.

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