Police Unit for Nationalist Crime releases minor from remand

Thursday, June 27, 20:21 Approximately one week ago two brothers, both residents of the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, were detained on suspicion of attempted robbery of an Arab taxi driver in Gilo during which the driver was lightly wounded and cut his finger. When the two brothers were detained, the police announced that they had admitted to the assault and that soon an indictment would be issued against them. Later, as the police’s suspicions that the motive of the incident was nationalist strengthened, the investigation was transferred to the Police Unit for Nationalist Crime who regarded the incident as one of a series of assaults, among them attempted murder, on Arabs carried out recently in Gilo. The brothers were suspected of the other assaults in the series. The above-mentioned attempted robbery of the Arab taxi driver was reappraised as attempted murder and classified as a hate crime. In the course of the investigation the police claims ran into difficulty because of the lack of evidence linking the detainees to the acts.
After the detainees had been in remand for several days, Honenu took on the case. On Thursday, June 27, in an agreement with the police arranged by Honenu attorneys Adi Kedar and David HaLevi, one of the brothers, a minor, was released. Kedar stated that the police announcement of the brothers’ admission to the assault was premature. The second brother will remain in remand until Sunday, June 30. Then the police will decide whether to release him or to request a remand extension.