Third suspect released in mosque arson case – “The police should get their house in order”

Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 12:52 Currently at the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court one of the suspects in the Tuba-Zangria mosque arson case has been released. The police requested a remand extension, however he was released to house arrest. The remand of the other detainee was extended by only two days.
Investigators from the National Unit of Serious and International Crime Investigations requested this morning that the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court extended the remand of both of the suspects in the mosque arson case. The court refused the requests of the police and released one of the detainees to a five-day house arrest.
The remand of the other suspect, who was detained yesterday in Yitzhar, was extended by only two days, despite the police request to extend it by ten days. It should be noted that the suspect denies all charges and told Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar that the investigators had not presented him with even one piece of evidence linking him to the act.
Keidar pleaded in court that there is absolutely no reason to continue holding the detainee in remand. “The detainee denies all charges and also the police know that there is no evidence in the case. The police must show progress in the investigation and therefore are pressuring suspects to talk and creating developments.”
Honenu reports that “The attempts by the police to breathe life into the arson case are not succeeding. Also the court has been forced to admit that there is no evidence in the case. We reiterate that this is the third suspect to be released. We suggest that the National Unit of Serious and International Crime Investigations get its house in order and investigate the circumstances of these baseless detentions.”