4 months in jail for soldier who abused Palestinian detainee
Givati Brigade soldier convicted of slamming head of blindfolded detainee against pole also gets four-month probation, demoted from corporal to private. Court denounces defendant's 'deplorable actions'
The Southern Command Military Court sentenced a Givati Brigade soldier to four and-a-half months in prison Wednesday, after he was convicted of abusing a handcuffed, blindfolded Palestinian detainee.
The defendant "brutally violated his duties as a human being, a citizen of the state and a soldier," the court said in the verdict.
"While another man, handcuffed and blindfolded, was under his custody, the defendant treated him badly, slamming his head against an iron pole and bruising his face.
"This harassment of a helpless person casts disgrace on the soldier and tarnishes the IDF and Israel's name," the judges stated.
The judges referred to an incident where the soldier, along with several of his peers, abused a man who was detained during an operation in Nablus, causing him to bang his head against a pole while he was blindfolded.
Soldier expresses remorse
It took the Military Police more than a month to track down the violent soldier, because the other soldiers who were present when the incident took place refused to name the culprit. The soldier himself initially denied the allegations against him in his interrogation.
In the trial, the defendant expressed his remorse and said that he wished he could "turn back the wheel." His defense attorney claimed that the incident was brief and unpremeditated, and that his client was an outstanding soldier and highly esteemed by his commanders.
In the verdict, the judges stressed that the defendant's actions were deplorable, but decided to take into account the soldier's personal record and his expression of remorse, and sentenced him to only four and-a-half months in prison, and a similar term. He was also demoted from corporal to private.
