“A matter of bragging”

Monday, January 30, 2017, 11:53 Several days after a 16-year-old Jewish youth had been released to his home by the court, the Attorney General’s office filed an indictment against him, with the Jerusalem District Court, for the violations of possessing a knife and conspiring to commit an act of terror.
The youth, who had been detained at a protest after the terror attack in the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem, was interrogated by the Department of Nationalist Crimes in the Central Unit of the Yehuda and Shomron Police and the ISA. According to the material from his interrogation, the interrogators attempted to link him to a new underground organization. In the course of the investigation, many youths were detained and interrogated on suspicion of belonging to the underground organization. A gag order was placed on the case.
During the interrogations it became apparent that the information the youth had given was incorrect. All of the detainees were released and no indictments were filed. The youth was also released by the court and is now under restrictive conditions.
Acquaintances of the youth said that he has been diagnosed by professionals as having a tendency to invent stories. For example, according to the investigative material he told people in his surroundings that he served in the army with Elor Azariya. He also said that his father is a high-ranking military man and because of him he has not been put on trial for desertion. None of the story is true. The youth is 16 years old, has never served in the army, and his father is not a military man.
Honenu Attorney Avichai Hajbi, who represented the youth, stated: “At the end of the day they understood that it was a matter of bragging by a youth who has been diagnosed by professionals as having tendencies to fabricate detailed stories. The investigating unit found that the stories he told during interrogation were contradicted by all of the other interrogatees in the case. It is unfortunate that the Attorney General’s office is insisting on filing an indictment in which the evidence contradicts the charges made against him. I am of the opinion that the intense investigation was carried out in the wrong case on the wrong youth.”

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.