This is how the Yehuda and Shomron Police rammed the youths’ car and killed Ahuvia, z”l.
Sunday, November 10, 2024, 14:44 Since the death of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l, who was tragically killed in a police-car chase on 6 Tevet, 5781 (December 21, 2020), Honenu has been representing those who are demanding a judicial investigation of the cause of the death, and also defending the many who are detained while demonstrating for a change in the police behavior that led to the fatal car ramming. The car Ahuvia was in, with four other boys, overturned when the police car collided with it from behind. The boys, who were injured in the car ramming, have been indicted for various charges. Please click here for a list of posts connected to the case.
Honenu Attorneys Adi Keidar, Moshe Poleski, and Yitzhak Bam are representing the four boys who were in the car with Sandak. After the State Attorney’s office announced that a plea bargain had been reached with the boys, the attorneys sharply criticized the office for drawing media attention to the agreement.
Attorney Adi Keidar: “Ahuvia Sandak was killed in a police-car chase. In the State of Israel, an interaction between a youth and police officers is not supposed to result in the youth’s death. Unfortunately, despite clear findings revealing the criminal conduct of the officers, they were released, and the youths who were injured in the car ramming were put on trial. Today, after considering the numerous legal concerns, and not without hesitation, we reached a plea bargain. From the very beginning, we repeatedly contested the indictment, which eventually resulted in reducing its severity until the lenient plea bargain was reached.
“To our astonishment, immediately after the hearing, the State Attorney’s office invited the media to a press conference and issued disgraceful statements designed to be a public relations campaign at the expense of Ahuvia’s death. The strategy of the State Attorney’s office continues to be repeated attempts to clear the name of the officers at the expense of the youths who are the genuine victims.”
Attorney Moshe Poleski: “We, the defendants’ attorneys, accepted the, albeit lenient, plea bargain only out of concern for our clients. This was despite the fact that as the trial proceeded, it became completely obvious that the car chase was illegal, criminal, and ended in the intentional car ramming which caused the death of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l. The Police Investigation Unit obstructed the investigation and covered up faults in the actions of the police officers involved in the car chase. In an anomalous step, the State Attorney’s office intentionally omitted the names of the officers who were present in the car from the indictment, preventing the court from arriving at the truth.
“This sad chapter in the history of the State of Israel will be remembered forever as a disgrace. Judging by the behavior of the Yehuda and Shomron Police, not only do hilltop youth not have human rights, but they do not even have the right to life. Although the State Attorney’s office and the Police Investigation Unit frequently persecute soldiers and police officers over a slight deviance from the norm or alleged disproportionate use of force, they completely ignored all of the officers’ failures in this case. Hamas terrorists in the custody of the security forces have more rights than ‘settlers.’”
Attorney Yitzhak Bam: “The Israel Police spilled Ahuvia’s blood. The State of Israel murdered and yet still inherited. Ahuvia’s blood cried out from the earth, and his friends were indicted to silence the cry. Because the judicial system is what it is today, we did not see any chance of bringing justice to light. Unfortunately, we were forced to cooperate with those who shed innocent blood, and for that we ask Ahuvia for his forgiveness.”