By Rina Rosenberg | International Advocacy Director
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Many greetings to you from Adalah.
We are writing now to update you about the very important protest case of Attorney AK and MJ, Palestinian citizens of Israel, community leaders, who were convicted under the 2016 Israeli Counter-Terror Law, for leading a peaceful demonstration with traditional, political chants against the War on Gaza in mid-October 2023. We reported on this case previously to the GlobalGiving community in 2024.
On 22 June 2026, the Haifa Magistrates’ Court sentenced the community leaders Attorney AK and MJ to time served, as the court ruled that the extensive time they previously spent in detention, four months in prison for AK and eight months for MJ, would serve as their primary sentence. While detained, AK and MJ were subjected to torturous and abusive conditions, and witnessed the ill-treatment of other detainees as well. While they will face no additional prison time, they were ordered to each pay a NIS 5,000 fine and they received a six-month suspended sentence.
This ruling concludes a legal process spanning over two and a half years, following their arrest on 19 October 2023, at a peaceful anti-war demonstration in Umm al-Fahem, an Arab town in the center of Israel.
In April 2026, the court convicted them under the 2016 Counter-Terror Law of “indirect incitement to terrorism” and “identification with a terrorist organization” based solely on traditional political chants, while acquitting them of direct incitement. Throughout the trial, the defense team demonstrated how the prosecutors engaged in selective enforcement of the Counter-Terror Law, overwhelmingly applying it only to Palestinians. The defense team also provided expert testimony on the historical and cultural context of the slogans, arguments the court ultimately dismissed in its conviction.
AK and MJ were represented by Adalah Attorneys Dr. Hassan Jabareen and Hadeel Abu Salih and Attorney Afnan Khalifa from the Human Rights Defenders Fund.
In response to the sentence, Adalah commented: “While the court decided not to impose additional prison time, this entire proceeding was a purely political prosecution from the very outset. By criminalizing Palestinian historical protest slogans and legitimate political speech, the state has dealt a severe blow to the basic freedom of expression rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel. This case sets a dangerous precedent, demonstrating how the Counter-Terrorism Law is systematically deployed to crush anti-war dissent, stifle freedom of expression, and terrorize the Palestinian public into silence. Adalah will continue to challenge the systemic overreach and state persecution targeting freedom of expression.”
The legal team will file an appeal on behalf of AK and MJ challenging their convictions and sentences.
See more about the April 2026 conviction Unprecedented Prosecution and Conviction for Protected Political Speech
Read more about the case, the charges brought against them, the prolonged pre-trial detention they both faced, and the broader context on this webpage: Persecuted for Chanting Against the War: The Case of MJ and AK
Thank you as always for your continued and generous support to Adalah and our work.
In solidarity
Rina Rosenberg
International Advocacy Director, Adalah
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