Mor Janashvilli (seated in wheelchair) and his brother; Photo credit: Honenu
Please click here for a list of posts relating to the mid-May Arab rioting throughout Israel and here for a list of posts relating to cases in which Honenu has represented victims of rock or Molotov cocktail attacks.
Thursday, July 29, 2021, 11:09 Earlier this week, Haifa District Court Judge Nitzan Silman ruled that Kusai Abbas, a suspect in the attempted murder of Mor Janashvilli, will remain in remand until the end of proceedings against him, without the need for an expert opinion. Janashvilli was attacked by Arab rioters in Acco on May 12, during Operation Guardian of the Walls. In his decision, Judge Silman stated that the acts of the rioter as they are described in the indictment indicate an ideologically based loss of humanity.
“A person must remain human regardless of circumstances. The prima facie act of which the respondent (Kusai) is charged, the harsh photographs, and the horrific outcome, all of these speak for themselves,” said Judge Silman. The attack on Janashvilli with a cold weapon after he lost consciousness indicates that the terrorist “had neither the law nor a judge before his eyes, and the danger he poses cries out from him.”
Judge Silman added that there is a concern that Kusai will violate house arrest conditions if he is released: “He who attempts to brutally murder out of ideological motivation will not hesitate to violate [house arrest] conditions and for the same reasons will not follow restrictive orders.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher welcomed the decision: “Two months ago, the citizens of Israel were under a wave of riots that appeared to be taken from before the founding of the State of Israel. The court did well to unequivocally rule that the terrorist belongs in prison without the need for an expert opinion. The severity of his acts does not leave room for a different decision. We hope that the message of zero tolerance for terrorists will pass to all of the courts.”
At the previous hearing, in the courthouse, family members of the suspects shouted at Mor and his brother, called them terrorists and threatened to murder them. One of them called out to Mor’s brother, “I’m from Acco. I’ll see to it that we murder you.” As Bleicher was recording a video clip, another interrupted him, shouted at Janashvilli, “You’re a terrorist,” and gestured at him with his middle finger.
Janashvilli was injured in the attack and is wheelchair-bound. He described the courtroom incident: “We arrived at the remand extension so that they wouldn’t release the attacker accused of rioting. Before the hearing began, several Arabs came and pointed an accusatory finger at me, [yelled] that I was a terrorist, that I ran over somebody. They almost attacked my brother. They told him, ‘We will murder you,’ as the suspects were openly smiling. I don’t understand what’s happening here. Someone tells me that I’m a terrorist. I’m in a wheelchair. How is that logical?”
Interrupted video clip from previous hearing: Atty. Bleicher (standing) with Mor Janashvilli; Video credit: Honenu