Conclusion of the ruling
Thursday, July 15, 2021, 10:15 On the morning of Thursday, July 15, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal by A., the minor who was tortured during the Kfar Duma arson case trial, and left his conviction of belonging to a terror organization standing.
At the end of the ruling, the court censured the severe interrogations which the minor had undergone and his remand conditions, but also justified his penalty. One of the Supreme Court Justices wrote: “In light of the severity of the acts of the appellant, their recurrence, and the circumstances under which they were carried out, I am not of the opinion that the penalty handed down to him is severe at all. This [holds true] even when taking note of his young age and the severe conditions of his interrogation and remand – which would have been better avoided. Therefore I am not of the opinion that there is cause to intervene concerning the penalty imposed on the appellant. In conclusion, I will recommend to my colleagues that they reject both sections of the appeal.”
The minor is currently being held under extremely severe conditions, in isolation, confined to his cell for approximately 22 hours a day and he is forbidden to make contact with either his family or his attorney by phone. His family is allowed to visit him once every two weeks from behind a glass partition.
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar; Photo credit: Honenu
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who is representing the minor: “The decision by the Supreme Court which we just received is puzzling. Despite the thorough and comprehensive hearing on the appeal by the minor, the decision was detached from the legal questions which arose during the hearing, and from the doubts which the judges brought up with the Attorney General’s office. We need to study the decision. The main focus of the case has not changed. The Attorney General’s office, the GSS, and the Central District Court suffered a major defeat when the confessions of the defendants were invalidated in light of the torture [interrogation under extreme duress, “special means”] they had undergone. The Supreme Court in the final clause of the ruling noted the lack of necessity for the torture.”
Since the July 2015 arson attack on the Dawabshe family’s house in Kfar Duma, Honenu has assisted many Jews accused of involvement with the crime. For a selection of posts describing Honenu Attorneys’ representation of defendants and GSS interrogatees, see here. To familiarize our readers with the case, Honenu has gathered – see here – various articles and short videos on the subject.