Deliberation on minor in Kfar Duma case

Deliberation on minor in Kfar Duma case
Timeline
District Court releases minor
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 10:49 The Central District Court in Lod accepted the request by Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar and Attorney Tzion Amir, who are representing the minor in the Kfar Duma case, and ordered the release of the minor to house arrest under surveillance and fitted with an electronic ankle cuff. The decision was read at the time of this posting.
District Court released minor, AG’s office appealed
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 11:03 Central District Court Judge Ami Kobo ordered the release of the minor in the Kfar Duma case to house arrest. Judge Kobo imposed strict restrictive conditions including surveillance, an electronic ankle cuff, and prohibitions on making contact with certain individuals.
After the decision to release the minor a representative of the Central District Attorney’s office requested that the court delay carrying out the decision in order to allow them time to appeal the decision with the Supreme Court. The deliberation was held at the request of Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar and Attorney Tzion Amir, who are representing the minor. The minor’s confessions were invalidated due to torture which he had undergone during interrogation.
On Wednesday, July 11, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked sent a letter to Knesset Member Yo’av Ben Tzur (Shas) in response to the schedule he suggested and submitted concerning the minor.
In her response Shaked wrote that she hopes that during the deliberation on Thursday, July 12 concerning the release from remand of the minor the court will be lenient: “The Attorney General’s office informed me that on July 5, 2018, the court ordered the acceptance of the expert opinion of the Probation Service which would examine the option of releasing the minor and also the option of an electronic ankle cuff. The deliberation for the decision on the request by the defense to release the minor has been set for Friday, July 13.
“In light of the picture which has been revealed to the public up until this point, I hope that the deliberation on the matter of his remand will be handled leniently and that the judges will allow the minor to handle his trial outside of the detention center,” wrote Shaked.
Justice Minister Shaked added that, “And on the whole, as a general lesson from this case, which has not yet closed, I suggest that all of the sides not be hasty in determining an individual’s fate according to media headlines.”
Delay
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 11:08 Carrying out the decision has been delayed until Sunday, July 15.
Statement from MK Betzalel Smotrich
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 11:21 Knesset Member Betzalel Smotrich (Jewish Home), who was present at the deliberation, stated that, “Today the court began rectifying the serious injustice, one of the most grave and serious injustices in the history of the State of Israel, that the State caused this minor and his family. The fact that he has been held for over two and a half years already, under conditions worse that those of Hamas terrorists, is the result of an ego war by the Attorney General’s office and by the Jewish Department of the GSS, who have placed all of their prestige on the shoulders of the minor and his family. Also the conduct of the Central District Attorney during the deliberation today was scandalous and unparalleled, even by that during deliberations on cases of hardened criminals from organized crime families.
“I call on the Attorney General to finally intervene in this case and to stop the witch hunt that is damaging what little is left of the trust that the public has in the law enforcement system.”
Statement from Attorney Tzion Amir
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 11:36 “There is a feeling of satisfaction from the decision itself, which allows the release of the minor, under restrictive conditions, but to his home.
“What is more important in his case are the statements by the court which analyzed the investigative material in the case and spoke about the violation of the minor’s basic and legal rights, and those are the important statements in his case. Consequently, there is a clear statement by the court that the evidence regarding his involvement in serious accusations completely crumbled, and that is a significant message.
“The standpoint of the State at this moment, even after the long and reasoned decision, and also after an unprecedented remand of close to three years, of a minor who was not convicted, is an unjustified position and very serious in his case.
“We believe and estimate that the decision will remain unchanged. We are on the right track for the truth to come to light and for it to turn out that the minor did not commit any crime,” added Amir.
Statement from Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar
Thursday, July 12, 2018, 11:47 “Better late than never. We have successfully completed this stage of the trial. I would like to reiterate that the public has not yet been exposed to a fraction of what has occurred in this case. The fact that the State is not honoring the verdict, nor learning from it, nor implementing what has been said is very unfortunate. I think that the next step will be to handle the case when the minor is released. This will lead to revealing all of what has occurred, which I believe will lead to further decisions, which will bring the case to a complete close.”