The Diplomat
The trial in an Israeli military court of Spanish national Juana Ruiz, accused of, among other offences, membership of an illegal organisation for her work for the Palestinian NGO Health Work Committees (HWC), has been postponed until 1 September.
The hearing began yesterday, but the defence raised some questions and requested access to new evidence, so the judge opened a new deadline for all parties to make their statements.
Spanish diplomatic sources pointed out that both the Embassy and the Consulate General in Jerusalem are following the case “closely” in order to provide consular assistance to Juana Ruiz. They also recalled that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, had already discussed the case in his first telephone contact with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, on 22 July, and that Spain has asked the Israeli authorities “to fulfil their obligations and guarantee Juana Ruiz’s right to defence”.
Ruiz, 62, who has lived in the West Bank for more than three decades, was arrested on 13 April by Israeli security forces and is being held in pre-trial detention on a total of five charges, three in connection with her work for HWC – illegal in Israeli eyes – as well as of smuggling money into the Palestinian territories and receiving funds under false pretences.
