Thursday, January 24, 2019, 11:31 On Thursday, January 24, after the deliberation at which an indictment was filed against the fifth and last minor from the high school yeshiva, Pri Ha’Aretz in Rechalim, the Honenu Attorneys representing him leveled severe criticism, stating the indictment is based on vague and weak evidence. They are certain that the case will end with the exoneration of the minor.
Statement from father of indicted minor; Video credit: Honenu
Honenu Attorney Amir Bracha: “It would have been better had the indictment filed today not been filed. There are grave doubts about the indictment. We have stated this repeatedly from the start. The court has also spoken about the fact that the central evidence in the case is a D.N.A. sample, the quality of which we do not know. The indictment is based, weakly, on a D.N.A. sample about which there are serious doubts concerning its admissibility in court.
“Such an indictment has most definitely caused damage to the 16-year old minor and his family. We will photocopy the evidence and we will study the indictment in order to criticize it with the assistance of experts on our behalf. The minor has repeatedly stated that he is not connected to this incident. I think that the State and the investigating authorities have committed an injustice. They impaled the arrow and then drew the target. The State, instead of wanting to investigate the truth and identify the individual who actually did it, simply marked a target instead of focusing and genuinely arriving at the truth.”
Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski added, “As far as we are concerned the case has not yet been solved. As you know, during the investigation a large number of possibly involved individuals were detained. In our opinion, the accuser, the Attorney General’s office, has had no leads and does not have any leads. And to this day they do not know what actually happened during the incident. Because of the length of time that has passed and because it is not possible to continue the investigation, they decided to rely on the weak evidence in the case and to file an indictment. We will examine the evidence and we are not sure that there is a reasonable chance that he will be convicted. There is no supporting evidence and no indication that the defendant whom we are representing is at all connected to the incident. We believe and hope that his innocence will come to light. We will examine the case and in the end we will see what will be.
“The quality of the evidence is not clear to us, therefore we will not relate to the evidence itself. But we are considering the haste with which the indictment was filed. In order to keep the defendant in remand they hastily filed an indictment without examining the evidence as it should have been examined. We will examine the evidence and G-d willing at the next deliberation the defendant will be released to his home.”
The father of the minor stated that, “We know that our son is innocent. The man on the street understands that our son is innocent. Unfortunately the excessive motivation to find the guilty parties at any price turned us into victims. One day, and this will take time, unfortunately, our son will be exonerated. We are sure of it and know it. But who will return to him the stolen years of his youth? Who will cure his broken heart and that of his family? And that of his friends? Who will be penalized? That we do not know. We are strong and I hope that we will stand firm. But the injustice screams to the Heavens. Thank you very much and thank you to all of the supporters surrounding us.”