The Northern Command's military court on Thursday indicted three junior commanders in the Armored Corps' 74th Battalion for their involvement in violent acts
against young soldiers as part of "induction ceremonies".
The "Ze'evim" company's sergeant major was charged with eight counts of abuse, as well as with inappropriate behavior. The other two commanders were charged with eight and four counts of abuse.
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The Northern Command's prosecutors – Major Avishag Agami-Mordechai and Captain Iyad Azzam – briefed the military court on nine cases of alleged acts of abuse against the company's soldiers, which mainly included humiliation and hard blows with not signs of injury.
The Military Prosecution also asked the court to keep two of the accused soldiers in custody until the completion of legal proceedings, saying that "they played a key role in all of the events and used severe violence. The fact is that they continued doing so in one of the cases even when the battered soldier had an asthma attack and says he even lost consciousness alternately.
"These cannot be referred to as minor incidents, but as pure violence," the prosecution added. "The complainants did express their consent, but they had no choice but to agree after it had been made clear to them that if they failed to agree their situation would be even worse."
The mother of one of the accused soldiers told Ynet on Thursday that her son had suffered "terrible injustice" and that she felt he had been betrayed by the State and the army.
"What we are feeling cannot be described," she said. "I will fight for his justice to the last drop of blood."
She added that she had been hurt by "the silence of the commanders throughout the army and Armored Corps' ranks of command. I am waiting for a righteous person to stand up and say that this phenomenon, which we don't agree with, must be treated in an education way which will uproot the phenomenon.
"What they are doing instead is a staged trial for the regimental policeman. Everything which has been accepted in the company and in this unit for so many years will now fall on our sons' soldiers," the mother said.
She added that her son had been "an exemplary soldier" for two and a half years.
"He loved the army and his friends. Everything he had at home he took and gave to the company so that they would enjoy it too. He bought flowerpots with his own money for the company. Where were all these people when they experienced this thing themselves at the unit, did it themselves, and now they are commanders. Where are the commanders of other units where more serious acts have taken place? Why are they silent?"
She added that her son had told her that when he was a young soldier he had experienced such abuse himself, and in a stronger manner. "If the commanders didn't know about these acts – and we don't believe they didn't know – then they are bad commanders who don't know what is taking place in their units."
During the discussions which preceded the indictments, the junior commanders' lawyers reiterated claims that the higher command rank must be probed, and the judges agreed with them.
Simultaneously, as part of a command procedure, Brigadier-General Eyal Zamir, commander of the 36th Armored Division, has ordered a permanent notation placed in the service record of both the current battalion commander and the previous one, for their part in the abuse.
Northern Command Chief Major-General Gadi Eisenkot also ordered to dismiss
the company commander – a captain – who was also sentenced to 30 days in prison. The commander was later questioned as part of an investigation by the Military Police's criminal investigation division.
As revealed by Ynet, the commander first used his right to remain silent, and then said that "the incident took place without my approval or knowledge. I don't agree with them and view them with severity, as they are humiliating and dishonoring."
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