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World Jewish News
12 indictments filed over lynching of Jewish terrorist
07.06.2009
Prosecutors on Sunday filed 12 indictments in a Haifa court against Shfaram residents suspected of taking part in the 2005 lynching of Jewish terrorist Eden Natan-Zada.
Natan-Zada, an AWOL Israel Defense Forces soldier, murdered four Israeli Arabs on a bus in the northern town of Shfaram in August 2005, days before Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. He was beaten to death after unloading his army-issued M-16 assault rifle on fellow passengers.
According to defense attorney Ahmad Raslan, some of the suspects will be charged with attempted murder, assaulting police officers and other offenses, while others will be charged with rioting that led to Natan-Zada's death.
The decision to indict the suspects comes after nearly four years and multiple hearings on whether to do so and on what charges.
"The prosecution believes that, despite Natan-Zada's atrocious actions, the events that led to his death seriously harmed the rule of law," said a statement issued Sunday by prosecutors.
"In a country governed by laws, whoever takes the law into his own hands and harms someone, even if he committed despicable crimes, will be tried by law enforcement."
Hadash chairman MK Mohammed Barakeh on Sunday accused the prosecution of blaming the victims in the case.
"Instead of investigating the terrorist Natan-Zada's associates in order to bring his partners in the slaughter at Shfaram to justice, they decide that the only guilty person is the victim," said Barakeh.
Barakeh called the decision to indict outrageous and foolish, and said that aside from the four fatalities that resulted from Natan-Zada's rampage, there are more than ten victims still alive who carry the trauma of his actions with them.
Shfaram residents on Sunday said they will hold an emergency meeting in the wake of the indictments.
Last year, the court decided the suspects would be charged with violent assault rather than murder, leading to widespread condemnation among Israeli Arab leaders who harshly criticized the court's decision to charge the suspects with any crime.
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent
Источник: Haaretz
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