ATV driver who killed girl on Yom Kippur gets 9 years
Nazareth Court sentences Assad Shibli, who ran over and killed nine-year-old Tal Zino of Kfar Tavor on Yom Kippur Eve of 2007, to nine years in jail. He is also ordered to pay NIS 50,000 in damages. Girl's family: Justice hasn't been done
The Nazareth District Court also sentenced 21-year old Mohammed Shibli, who evaded manslaughter charges but was found guilty of aiding with the abandonment of the victim, to two years in prison and a fine of NIS 15,000 ($4,000). Mohammed was seated behind Assad during the accident.
When the sentence was read out Tal's mother burst into tears, and her father said that "justice has not been done".
Current president of the court, Justice Yitzhak Cohen, said he did not consider the case a normal traffic accident. "Tal was picked in her prime, and did not get a chance at life," he said.
Assad and Mohammed Shibli (Photo: Hagai Aharon)
He criticized the defendants' careless driving and added, "The defendant was intolerably foolhardy in his driving due to his knowledge of the rites of Yom Kippur."
Of Mohammed he said, "The defendant ran without offering assistance and without reporting the accident."
Cohen wrote in his verdict that the defendants "drove wildly, continued to speed towards a crowd and took Tal's life away".
"The task of sentencing is always a difficult one. Nothing will return light to a child's eyes, but proper proportionality must be observed," the judge wrote.
'What if a Jew had entered a Muslim area?'
Zino's mother said following the ruling, "We were expecting the maximum punishment, which is 20 years, but certainly not what the judge has given."
Hannah Zino, who broke into tears after hearing the sentence, was expecting a much harsher punishment for the man who ran over her nine-year-old daughter two years ago.
"We are devastated. The court's ruling refers to very serious offenses and the punishment does not befit the ruling," Zino told Ynet. "I ask - where is the deterrence? There could be more victims in our communities. The communities have turned into places where everything is allowed and proper deterrence could have prevented this," she said.
Zino also asked what would have happened if things were the other way around. "I keep wondering what would have happened if a Jew had dared to enter a Muslim community during the Ramadan period. I'm certain he would not have come out alive. The difference between us and them is that we know what we're not allowed to do, and they do as they please."
'It was a mistake, not a result of rearing'
On Yom Kippur Eve in 2007 Tal Zino left her house on her bicycle in the direction of Kfar Tavor's synagogue, where her father was praying. Meanwhile Mohammed and Assad, who reside in a nearby village, decided to take advantage of the empty streets on the holiday and went for a reckless drive on their ATV.
They were performing dangerous wheel-lifts when they hit Zino, mortally wounding her.
The court sentencing Tuesday was guarded by large police forces in order to prevent rioting. Assad's father said before the hearing that "what happened was a mistake, and not a result of rearing".
"No one gave me a chance to ask the parents for forgiveness," he added.
Tal Zino's family in court (Photo: Hagai Aharon)
During a sentencing hearing held on October 13 Tal's mother, Chaya Zino, said, "If I had seen a look of remorse in the defendants' eyes maybe it would have been easier for me".
At the end of the sentencing hearing the two defendants asked to speak. "I'm sorry for the family's loss, I didn't mean it. I will never do anything else like this. Give me another chance," said Assad Shibli.
Mohammad Shibli said he too was sorry. "I don't know how we came to be in this situation. I haven't worked for two years and I haven't a shekel in my pocket. If I get the sentence they are asking for I don't know what I'll do," he pleaded.
