Officers during June, 2007 rally
צילום: דודי ועקנין
Officer jailed for assaulting anti-gay march protestor
Court sentences Inspector Gilad Mizrahi to year in prison for attacking haredi man during rally on Jerusalem's Bar-Ilan Street
The Jerusalem Magistrates' Court on Thursday sentenced Inspector Gilad Mizrahi to one year in prison for assaulting an ultra-Orthodox man during a demonstration against the gay pride parade in June 2007.
According to the indictment, the officer noticed a young haredi man videotaping the rally, which was held on Bar-Ilan Street in the capital. The officer ordered the man to hand over his video camera, and when the man questioned Mizrahi's order, the police officer snatched the camera from his hands while pushing him to the ground.
The officer, the indictment read, proceeded to punched the haredi man and knock off his glasses. The man suffered a bloody nose as well as injuries to other parts of his body. He required medical attention.
In his ruling, Judge Yitzhak Milanov said the circumstances did not require the use of physical force against a civilian.
Mizrahi was also given a six-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay the plaintiff NIS 10,000 ($2,700) in damages.
The officer's attorney said he is considering appealing the sentence.
