Yihya Farkhan
Photo: Eran Yoffi Cohen
Dana Bennett
Photo: Effi Sharir
Dana Bennett's murderer fit to stand trial
Defense asks court to order psychiatric evaluation of Yihya Farkhan, claiming he is mentally unfit. Medical assessment disagrees; defense to ask court for second opinion
Yihya Farkhan, the prime suspect in the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Dana Bennett, is fit to stand trial, a court ordered psychiatric evaluation determined.
Dana Bennett went missing in 2003, neat Tiberias. Her remains were found in mid May and Farkhan was arrested shortly afterwards. The police allege that he confessed to the murder, as well as to killing at least three other people.
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According to a Wednesday report in Yedioth Ahronoth, Farkhan was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation following a request by his defense attorney, Tami Ulman, who claimed he is suffering from a variety of mental problems, rendering him unfit to stand trial.
A person can be declared unfit to stand trial if they are found to be unable to assist in their own defense or suffering a mental disorder or illness. Farkhan underwent a two-week psychiatric evaluation, which found him to be in full possession of his faculties – i.e. fit to stand trial.
Ulman, however, claims the evaluation's results are inadmissible, since it was conducted "in the form of a police interrogation": "The exams were done with police officers present, with (Farkhan) fully shackled. We will ask the court for a second evaluation, since it is clear to us the evaluation was not preformed according to standard protocol."
Regardless of the psychiatric evaluation the police asked the Nazareth District Court to remand Farkhan for another week, a motion which was granted.
