The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court has ordered firebrand Muslim cleric Raed Salah kept in custody for two more days.
Salah, from the Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm, was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of incitement to violence and terror, as well as supporting and being active in a banned organization — the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement, which he heads.
Sheikh Raed Salah, center, smiles as he arrives at the Israeli Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court on August 15, 2017. (AFP/JACK GUEZ)
“On a number of occasions, all of them after the movement was made illegal [in 2015], the inciter made statements before an audience and saw his statements quoted in the media. These statement are linked to the movement’s worldview. An examination of the [statements] raise the suspicion that some of the things said [by Salah] meet the criteria for the stated crimes,” police said in a statement.
According to Haaretz, the judge okayed the police request to keep Salah in custody, but said his words were quotes from the Quran and could not be considered inciting speech.
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Tuesday, August 15, 2017
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