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Occupied Jerusalem: An Israeli human rights group claims that Israel's military court makes automatic convictions for Palestinian suspects.
In a report published on Sunday, Yesh Din said that in 2006, more than 99.7 per cent of those accused were convicted.
Yesh Din also found major failings in court practices: Hearings were held in Hebrew and the Arabic-speaking suspects often did not understand the charges brought against them.
As a result, suspects were unable to present a full defense or have an effective counsel, the rights group said in its report.
"Most are detained in Israel and their attorneys are not able to meet them," said Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's counsel. Minors were often tried as adults and detained at length before being charged.
The army responded that the report was filled with flaws, faulty research methods and mistaken analysis and that the courts give defendants fair trials.
More than 150,000 Palestinians have been prosecuted in these courts since 1990, according to Yesh Din, whose board includes Michael Ben Yair, a former Israeli attorney general, retired Gen. Shlomo Lahat, a former Tel Aviv mayor, and Shulamit Aloni, a former Cabinet minister.
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