Nearly 3 years after Samir ‘Awad was killed: By end of 2015, indictments to be served on minor charg

[Jefferson23]

November 9, 2015


Samir ‘Awad being taken to hospital. Photo by ‘Abd a-Naser Murar, 15 January 2013

Yesterday, 8 November 2015, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) ruled that the State Attorney’s Office must file indictments against two soldiers involved in the killing of 16-year-old Palestinian Samir ‘Awad, by the end of December 2015 – almost three years after the incident took place. The HCJ also ruled that the petition filed jointly by Ahmad ‘Awad, Samir’s father, and by B’Tselem had been exhausted, unless the State Attorney’s Office updates the Court of a change in its decision. In which case, the petitioners will be able to renew their appeal to the Court. The ruling followed a notice from the State Attorney’s Office on 4 November that it had reached a final decision to prosecute the two soldiers for committing “a reckless and negligent act using a firearm”. The recommendation to prosecute had been made earlier by the Central District Attorney’s Office, and prior to that by the Military Prosecution and by the MAG – as the State Attorney’s Office reported to the HCJ almost nine months ago, on 15 March 2015. Before the final decision was reached, hearings were held for both soldiers, following which new evidence was gathered as part of an additional investigation of the incident. According to the update by the State Attorney’s Office, the investigative material gathered did not meet the threshold required by criminal law for establishing that either soldier caused ‘Awad’s death.

As B’Tselem wrote some six months ago – after the State Attorney’s Office announced its intention to prosecute the two for this minor offense – killing a wounded, fleeing youth who posed no threat by shooting him in the back cannot be considered a “reckless and negligent act”. The disparity between the grave action and the minor offense is incomprehensible and outrageous, conveying a message of disregard for the lives of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories on the part of Israeli authorities. The State Attorney’s Office, whose decision endorsed filing indictments on this minor charge, reiterated yet again the message to Israeli security forces in the Occupied Territories: even if you kill an unarmed Palestinian who poses no threat, we will do everything to cover it up and ensure impunity. On another matter, it is also not clear why it took almost three years and a petition to the HCJ for the authorities to decide to indict on such charges.

It is disappointing to witness yet again how the HCJ tolerates the protracted foot-dragging by the State Attorney’s Office in this petition. In the previous hearing on the petition, held on 1 December 2014, the Court instructed the State Attorney’s Office to reach a final decision in the case within three months. Nonetheless, the Court allowed repeated postponements of the deadline, instead of setting an appropriate binding norm. In the hearing today, too, held after the State Attorney’s Office had announced its decision to prosecute, the Court gave the State a nearly two-month extension for filing the indictments.

At the end of the day, the predictable outcome is this: a Palestinian teenager who was endangering no one was shot to death by soldiers. After a long legal battle, it appears that indictments are to be filed in the case, but only on a minor, ridiculous charge and after some three years of foot-dragging, which continued even after a petition to the HCJ. Although the justices were well aware of the protracted proceedings in this case, which prompted the petition to begin with, they enabled the State Attorney’s Office conduct throughout the process. This final outcome is the shared responsibility of many actors – from the commanders of the soldiers who fired, the MPIU investigators, the MAG Corps, the State Attorney’s Office and its attorneys, to the High Court justices. They all bear a joint responsibility for the message that this outcome conveys.

http://www.btselem.org/accountability/20151109_hcj_ruling_in_samir_awad_killing

[geek tragedy]

1. they would have been more severely punished had they shot a dog instead of a Palestinian boy nt

[Jefferson23]

2. The leadership/Justice system in Israel make themselves abundantly clear how they see Palestinians.

Bibi is in DC claiming he needs more security for Israeli Jews.

They provide an abhorrent horror show....Happy Occupation, Palestinians!

[rafeh1]

3. One law for occupiers

And another for occupied

Its standard in all occupations. We did same in iraq

[Jefferson23]

4. Shocking video shows Israeli interrogation of Palestinian 13-year-old

Footage appears to show a confession from a Palestinian teen obtained under duress

A 10-minute video showing an Israeli security interrogation of a 13-year-old Palestinian was leaked to local Palestinian media on Monday.

The video, in which the interrogator is seen yelling at Ahmad Manasra and repeatedly accusing him of attempted murder, has provoked a strong response from Palestinians, many of whom took to social media to express everything from horror at the treatment to respect for what they termed the teen's endurance under tough questioning. The video has also sparked outrage from human rights groups who insist that the case has been politicised and human rights norms pertaining to the treatment of minors are not being followed.

The case has also prompted the Israeli Justice Ministry to draft a bill that would allow children as young as 12 who are convicted of murder, attempted murder or manslaughter to be sentenced to jail. If the bill is passed, Israel would be one of few Western countries that allow prison sentences for children under 14, Haaretz reported.

Manasra was arrested on 12 October after allegedly taking part in a stabbing attack with his cousin, 15-year-old Hassan Manasra, in the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeev in East Jerusalem.

Two Israelis were injured in the attack. Hassan was shot dead at the scene by police, with Israeli media claiming that Manasra was run over by a car as he tried to run away.

A video of him lying on the ground bleeding, as a crowd of Israelis onlookers shouted abuse - spitting at him and yelling for him to die - quickly went viral.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later caused controversy by saying that the teenager had been executed by Israeli security forces, although the Israeli authorities quickly denied this and released images of Manasra lying in a hospital bed at the Hadasseh University Medical Centre in Ein Karem, Jerusalem.

Israeli NGO Physicians for Human Rights criticised the move at the time, arguing in a statement that the Israeli government’s decision to publish photographs of Manasra were purely political.

“The fact that it is a photo of a minor in custody who was photographed without his parents’ permission" is a violation of juvenile law and privacy laws, the statement said.

“Even more disturbing, is that reportedly the instructions [to publish the photo] came directly from the office of the Health Minister [Yaakov Litzman] and that the picture itself was distributed by the Prime Minister’s Office.”

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/i-dont-remember-shocking-israeli-interrogation-under-age-palestinian-2011779952