Israeli court gives Arab poet jail time over incitement to violence
Dareen Tatour given five months behind bars over social media posts that encouraged attacks during the recent wave of violence
An Israeli court has sentenced an Arab poet to five months in prison for incitement to violence over social media posts she made during a wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Dareen Tatour’s case drew international attention after Israel put her under extended house arrest for her poems.
More than 150 literary figures, including authors Alice Walker and Naomi Klein, called for Tatour’s release.
Critics called her arrest a violation of freedom of expression.
In delivering its sentence, the court said Tatour’s poem was inciting and that free expression has limits.
Tatour was also convicted of supporting a terror group.
She said her poem was not a call to violence.
Israel said the two-year outburst of attacks that began in 2015 was fuelled by Palestinian incitement spread on social media.
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