Brian Avery

Brian Avery (born 1979) is an American former volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), who was shot in the face and quite seriously disfigured on April 5, 2003 while working for the ISM in the West Bank town of Jenin.

hooting incident

In a February 2005 interview, he said:

: [W] e weren't two blocks from our apartment when an Israeli convoy of two vehicles, a tank and an armored personnel carrier, drove up the street from the direction that we were walking from. And so as we heard them coming closer, we stepped off to the side of the road to let them pass by, which was again, you know, a very, very typical situation for us to encounter the soldiers, even during the curfew, and for them just to pass on by ... And so we stood to the side of the road, we put our hands out to show we didn't have any weapons and weren't, you know, threatening them in any way. And I was wearing a fluorescent vest to, you know, try to make ourselves as visible as possible. And once they drove within about 30 meters of where we were standing, they opened fire with their machine guns and continued shooting for a very long time, probably shooting about, you know, 30 rounds of ammunition, which is quite a lot when you see them in action. And I was struck in the face with one of the bullets and, you know, was knocked to the ground immediately. [ http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/25/1455249]

According to the Jerusalem Post (9/20/07), Brian and friends were "wearing red reflector vests with the word "doctor" in English and Arabic." [ [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411452761&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Wounded activist testifies against IDF"] . "Jerusalem Post," 20th Sept 2007.]

Israeli Supreme Court hearing

Avery appeared before the Israeli Supreme Court on February 28, 2005 to request a criminal investigation into his shooting. He accused Israeli troops of shooting him without provocation. The court responded by ordering the military to reopen Avery's case. Avery's attorney, Michael Sfard, said that the ruling "shows the military that even internal inquiries should be managed professionally and with care to get testimony from all sides, not just from military," and that it "coerces the military to change its stand on things. This is definitely not usual." [ http://www.kcchronicle.com/MainSection/other/5539180852183.php]

ee also

*James Miller (filmmaker)
*Tom Hurndall
*Rachel Corrie

References

* Goodman, Amy. [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/25/1455249 "U.S. Peace Activist Brian Avery Returns to Israel Two Years After Being Shot in the Face."] DemocracyNow.org, February 25th, 2005
* Lori, Aviva. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=553986 "Who Shot Brian Avery?"] , Ha'aretz International, March 18, 2005
* Nessan, Lisa. [http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3646.shtml "Brian Avery's day in Israel's Supreme Court"] , The Electronic Intifada, 28 February 2005
* Stevens, Kristen. [http://www.kcchronicle.com/MainSection/other/5539180852183.php "Israeli Supreme Court orders military to reopen case of wounded U.S. activist"] , The Associated Press, March 1, 2005
* Carl in Jerusalem [http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2006/05/protecting-soldiers-from-outside.html "Protecting soldiers from outside challenges"]

Further reading

* Broili, Susan. [http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2003%20Opinion%20Editorials/June%202003%20Opinion/28o/Brian%20Avery's%20life%20altered%20after%20being%20shot%20in%20the%20face%20by%20Israeli%20soldiers%20in%20Jenin,%20By%20Susan%20Broili.htm "Brian Avery's life altered after being shot in the face by Israeli soldiers in Jenin"] , Al-Jazeerah.info, 26 June 2003