Golani commander indicted for abuse, assault of troops
Platoon commander in training base charged with aggravated assault against soldier who mistakenly slapped him. Officer's remand extended by two months. Extended remand used to illustrate gravity of charges, source involved in case says
An indictment on abuse was filed Sunday against a platoon commander in a Golani Brigade training base. Second Lieutenant Haim Mizrahi is charged with aggravated assault after hitting one of his soldiers three weeks ago - an incident exposed by Ynet.
In light of the gravity of the charges it was decided that Mizrahi remain in the custody of military prison for two months.
Testimonies collected by the Investigating Military Police (IMP) led the Military Prosecutor's Office to file a harsh indictment against the officer. Mizrahi, who was suspended immediately after the incident, was allegedly involved in a series of violent attacks against one of his soldiers after the latter inadvertently slapped him during hand-to-hand combat training.
The soldier claimed that while the two were in a closed room the commander kicked him in the chest, banged his head on a metal closet, hurled him on beds and closets and hit him in the back for what lasted a total of 25 minutes.
The following day, prior to the soldiers departure home, the commander asked one of the soldiers to punch the recruit in the ribs, who refused to comply.
Additional incidents probed
A comprehensive IMP investigation was launched following the event, which examined other incidents on the part of Mizrahi, as well as on other company commanders. It was then decided to indict the suspended officer for two additional incidents in which he allegedly used wooden target posts to punch soldiers during a shooting range.
Captain Moshe Eyal of the Military Prosecutor's Office motioned to extend the officer's remand until all legal procedures against him are completed.
An objection was raised by Mizrahi's attorney on the grounds that his client did not hit the soldier, but allegedly tried to demonstrate hand-to-hand combat routines and calm him down.
Justice Colonel Erez Porat remained unconvinced by the argument and ordered to extend the officer's remand until January 7, 2010. Sources involved in the case said that the court's decision to remand Mizrahi for two months attests to the gravity of the charges, seeing as such a ruling is rare.
"The fact that the officer is still in jail more than implies he is a dangerous individual and should therefore be judged severely during the trial," one source said.
