Avraham Sandak (L) and Honenu Attorney Ariel Atari (R); Photo credit: Honenu
Honenu is representing those who are insisting on the investigation of the death of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l, who was tragically killed in a police car chase on Tevet 6 5781/ December 21, 2020, and defending the many who are being detained while demonstrating for change in police behavior. The car Ahuvia was in with four other boys overturned when the police car collided with it from behind. Please click here for a list of posts connected to the case.
Wednesday, December 1, 2021, 15:30 Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit replied to the Sandak family that the investigative case into the death of Ahuvia Sandak, z”l, will be transferred back to the State Prosecutor, less than a month after the Office of the State Prosecutor announced that the case would be transferred to the Attorney General. The reply was sent to Honenu Attorney Ariel Atari, who is representing the Sandak family, after he sent a request to the Attorney General to thoroughly investigate the policemen, in light of the response from the office of the State Prosecutor that the investigative case had been transferred to the Attorney General for examination. For more details, click here.
Honenu Attorney Ariel Atari responded to the return of the investigative case to the State Prosecutor: “The case is being passed from hand to hand as if it were a hot potato. The family demands an investigation and justice.”
One month ago, Atari sent a letter to Amit Eisman, the State Prosecutor, demanding that he order the policemen suspected of involvement with the death to stand trial as soon as possible. The response from the office of the State Prosecutor less than a month ago was that “the matter is under examination by the Attorney General.”
Therefore, Atari wrote a letter to the Attorney General on behalf of the Sandak family, demanding that he give an order for the policemen accused of causing the death of their son to be brought to trial. In the letter, Atari detailed the unfolding of events of the day of Ahuvia’s death during a police car chase and expressed the concerns of the family regarding a whitewashing of the investigation.
“From the first moment, the family did not conceal their doubts about the integrity of the investigation. Not because of the death of their son, but rather because [the authorities] separated the PIU from the Israeli Police in light of leakage of information from the investigating authorities in the police to policemen suspected of committing criminal offenses, and in light of instances of corrupting evidence and coordinating testimonies in instances in which policemen were investigated on suspicion of committing criminal offenses.
“Also concerning our case there was an inherent possibility that information would be leaked to the suspected policemen, at the most critical time of the investigation. The investigation was ongoing while policemen from the Yehuda and Shomron District, in which the suspected policemen served, were involved over their heads with gathering evidence. A policeman’s uniform is not a guarantee of adherence to the law, just as wearing tzitzit does not ensure that whoever wears them will obey the laws of the state or even the commandments of the Torah. Therefore, they [the policemen] are not eligible for differential treatment from the law enforcement authorities.”
The family stated that releasing the policemen only a few hours after the incident set off a red alarm light with regard to the process of the investigation. “The fact that even before Ahuvia’s body had cooled, the PIU investigators, who knew that there was a likelihood that his death had been caused by the ramming by the policemen, decided to release the policemen to their homes, which allowed them to coordinate testimonies, is outrageous. In the parallel world in which we live, citizens who are suspected of causing death with a moving vehicle are detained for 24 hours and brought before a judge the following day for a remand extension,” added Atari.
Atari described the family members’ lives that have been irrevocably shaken since the murder, and concluded with a request to Attorney General Mandelblit to order the policemen to stand trial: “In light of the above, and since the decision has been transferred to his honor, Avraham and Ayelet Sandak are asking his honor to hurry and order those accused of causing the death of Ahuvia, z”l, to stand trial.”