Farmer Tal Dardik Indicted Hours After Arrest for Violating Administrative Order

Farmer Tal Yinon Dardik was indicted on Friday, just hours after his arrest in northern Israel. The indictment, filed by the prosecution unit of the Judea and Samaria District Police, charges Dardik with violating an administrative order issued by the Central Command's General Avi Bluth. Specifically, Dardik is accused of failing to report for required check-ins at a police station in Modi'in Illit.

Dardik, a father of four from the Samaria region, was recently released after a 38-day hunger strike, which ended when a court found a previous administrative order against him to be unworkable. That order had required him to stay at his deaf mother-in-law's home. The court had also criticized police conduct in that case.

However, upon his release, a new administrative order was issued. This order prohibits Dardik from his home and farm, his livelihood, and mandates twice-daily check-ins at a police station in a city he claims to have never visited. The current indictment focuses solely on his failure to appear for these check-ins, not on any alleged presence in Judea and Samaria.

Dardik's attorney, Nati Rom of the Honenu organization, strongly criticized the swift indictment, calling it a continuation of harassment. He stated that the commanding general is dragging Dardik into another "crushing saga" with a "draconian order" issued without evidence or due process. Dardik himself described the situation as persecution, arguing that the requirements prevent him from maintaining a minimal lifestyle.