Last update - 00:00 21/09/2006
Israeli held in Mumbai for possession of ammo clip released on bond
By Relly Sa'ar and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents
Noa Haviv, the Israeli woman arrested last week in Mumbai for entering the country with a magazine of 9mm bullets, was released from jail Tuesday morning after posting $300 bail.
The conditions of the bail forbid Haviv to leave India, but allow her to continue her trip within the country until her next hearing in court in two weeks.
Haviv had her first hearing before the court last Friday, and in spite of the family's optimism that the court would see her case as an instance of grave error, the court refused to allow her release until after her second hearing Tuesday morning.
Sources in the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Mumbai stated Tuesday that "We expect the court to deal leniently with Noa Haviv at her hearing in two weeks. Furthermore, the Israeli consulate in Bombay will continue to support Haviv as much as possible."
Haviv arrived in Mumbai September 21st on an EL AL flight. According to sources in the Airport Authority, the magazine and the bullets were in luggage within the cargo hold underneath the plane and did not pose a threat to the safety of the passengers or the plane itself.
The sources also said that the passenger did not have a profile that would have characterized her as suspicious, and therefore she passed easily through the standard security checks and X-ray screening.
According to the Haviv family, the magazine and the bullets belonged to Noa's brother, Tzahi, who had just finished reserve duty and forgot to remove the magazine before lending the bag to his sister for the trip.
In a separate incident last December, Israeli tour guide Gili Heskin was jailed in an Indian prison for 20 days after a rifle bullet was found in his case. He was released after senior Israeli officials intervened on his behalf.
Heskin returned to Israel last April after two Indian citizens signed a personal guarantee stating that he would return to India for the continuation of his trial, if need be.