2 men accused of murdering their sister placed under house arrest
Tel Aviv District Court remands Salameh and Muhammad Gannem, accused of murdering their sister two years ago, to house arrest due to court's inability to set trial date
The Tel Aviv District Court decided Tuesday to remand Salameh and Muhammad abu Gannem, two brothers from Lod who admitted to killing their sister, to house arrest.
The two were convicted of murdering their 19-year-old sibling, Rihm, by their own admission. She was killed because she wanted to marry a Palestinian man over her family's objections.
According to the indictment, in mid-2006, the two used a drugged Rihm, took her to an abandoned field and threw her in a well.
They were indicted for murder two years ago, but brought to trial just six months ago. The judge assigned to the case retired, leading to further delays in the trial. Eventually, after being held without trial for a long time, the brothers petitioned the High Court in order to be released. They were remanded to house arrest Tuesday morning.
The court stipulated they were to be placed under the constant supervision of two parole officers; ther brothers were ordered to wear electronic monitoring ankle bracelets and deposit a NIS 150,000 (approx. $45,000) bail. They were forbidden from leaving Israel.
The brothers' attorneys, Moshe Sherman and David Yiftach said their clients still maintain their confession was obtained illegally.
