Defense attorneys representing the Jewish minor accused of killing an Arab woman who was riding in her husband’s car near Tapuah junction on Tuesday called on the State Attorney’s Office to withdraw the claims against their client.
“During the hearing, we presented an opinion by Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, according to which it was not appropriate to file the indictment in the first place, since the death of the deceased was not caused by a stone,” the attorneys said in a statement.
The October 12, 2018 killing of Aisha al-Rabi was initially reported as the result of a stone-throwing attack that took place near the Israeli settlement of Rehelim. Aisha Rabi, a resident of Biddya, was reportedly killed while traveling with her family, after her car was struck with a volley of stones, and she was possibly hit with a rock weighing four pounds.
The Shin Bet arrested five Jewish minors in connection with the incident, and one of them was eventually indicted for manslaughter and terrorism. The others were not charged.
Defense attorney Ariel Atari said, “I expect the State Prosecutor’s Office to weigh carefully whether to continue at all with the procedure against the minor.”
Attorney Adi Keidar of the Honenu legal aid society said, “In light of the new evidence, which joins the many additional pieces of evidence that indicate the innocence of the minor, we call on the State Attorney’s Office not only to retract the indictment, but also to order the release of the minor, and not to appeal the decision to release him [to the Supreme Court].”
The Central District Court on Tuesday ordered the minor to be released to house arrest with electronic cuffing, but the court accepted the State Attorney’s Office’s request and ordered that the delay of the minor’s release to allow the prosecution to appeal its ruling to the Supreme Court.
