Indictment filed against Nahal Hareidi soldiers

Thursday, October 29, 2015, 15:19 On Thursday, October 29 the Military Advocate General filed an indictment against five soldiers from the Nahal Hareidi Netzah Yehuda Regiment of the K’fir Brigade charging them with the serious charge of aggravated abuse of two terrorists. The Military Advocate General also demanded their remand until the end of proceedings. Two other soldiers were released after the Military Advocate General retracted its decision to issue an indictment against them. See here for more information on the case.
Honenu is representing the five soldiers and stated that the case is being blown out of proportion. “The only abuse here is of the IDF soldiers, and those responsible for the abuse are the authorities in the Military Advocate General and the MPCID who are apparently influenced by left-wing organizations.”
According to details of the indictment, the soldiers, sometimes together and sometimes separately, are suspected of having kicked and slapped two terrorists who were detained in villages in the area of Jenin.
No-one is disputing that the first terrorist who claimed he was beaten, hit his own head against the wall and the floor. Additionally the soldiers claim that they applied reasonable force to him when he refused to continue walking as they were taking him to the toilet shortly after he was detained.
The other terrorist complained that when he was being held after being detained on suspicion of illegally possessing a weapon and being involved with terror attacks, some of the soldiers kicked him and slapped him several times as they passed him in the corridor.
On the morning of Thursday, October 29 Honenu reported that the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) investigators searched the soldiers’ cellular phones for “right-wing expressions” as part of their attempts to incriminate them with beating the terrorists.
Honenu attorney Aharon Roza, who is representing two of the soldiers, stated in response to the indictment, “I welcome the decision by the military prosecution to let the decision stand concerning the soldier released two days ago to confinement to his base. Concerning the other soldier against whom an indictment was filed, I intend to plea that the facts described in the indictment and the military violation with which he has been charged are exaggerated. The genuine factual version of events does not justify remand and that is how I will plead.”
Honenu attorney Chai Haber, who is representing two of the soldiers, said, “As a result of several specific incidents which occurred in which several soldiers are suspected of beating two detained terrorists, this case is being presented in an exaggerated manner. It is important to remember that we live in a difficult reality of daily terror attacks when all of the security forces and IDF soldiers in particular are working around the clock in order to return a sense of quiet and security. It is a shame that specifically at this time the army chose not to make the necessary differentiation and to rush to detain valued soldiers. All that on the basis of complaints by terrorists exploiting the IDF’s high level of ethics. Even if we accept the approach of the Military Advocate General it is obvious that there was no cause to file an indictment.”