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Israeli President Calls for Restraint in Jail Day Protests
As tens of thousands of people staged "Jail Day" protests here on Sunday over former Shas party leader Aryeh Deri's imprisonment, Israeli President Moshe Katsav urged them to show restraint and act in proper fashion.
Katsav, who defeated Regional Cooperation Minister Shimon Peres in last July's presidential ballot with the help of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, calls upon Shas supporters to accept the verdict of the court, officials in Katsav's office said.
Earlier, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Deri himself also called on supporters to act in the framework of law in Sunday's protests.
Deri, once a charismatic and promising political star and the state's youngest ever interior minister, was convicted on charges of bribery taking, breach of trust and fraud while he served as the minister in the 1980s, and was sentenced to three years in prison later.
As the first former cabinet minister ever sentenced to prison terms in the country, Deri is required to report to the prison authority Sunday noon after having exhausted appeals process since the sentence.
Large crowds of Deri's supporters had begun their rally Sunday morning to accompany Deri to jail and launched a series of "Jail Day" protests against the sentence.
At the first hour of the protesting march, Deri was prevented from speaking as his supporters, carrying black flags and placards, pressed against his car, according to Israel Radio reports.
The convoy now is leaving Jerusalem for Ramle, where Deri is expected to begin the process of becoming an inmate, including prison warden's interview, talks with a psychologist, and meetings with social workers.
Thousands of policeman had manned the streets to prevent possible disturbances and any actions of violence, police spokesman said Sunday. Some roads are being closed to traffic.
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