Brothers' arrest in Ajami
Photo: Muhammad Babi
Attorney Giora Zilberstein
Photo: Yaron Brener
'Ajami' director's brothers file complaint against police
Tony, Jiries Copti say were assaulted by officers involved in their arrest last week
A week after the arrest of Tony and Jiries Copti, brothers of "Ajami" director Scandar Copti, the two filed a complaint with the Police Investigations Unit against the police officers who they say assaulted them.
The film "Ajami", named after the Jaffa neighborhood in which the brothers were arrested, has been nominated for an Oscar, and one of the brothers even acted in the film.
Last Saturday night the two were arrested on suspicion of assaulting police offers. The police claim the two disrupted the officers when they arrived in the neighborhood to detain another suspect.
Violent Arrest
Eli Senyor
Brothers of Oscar-nominated film's director recall abusive investigation. 'I was sprayed with pepper gas, had siren put next to my ear while officers cursed, beat me', Jiries Copti tells Ynet. Police: Reasonable force employed to arrest unruly suspects
Together with others, the brothers allegedly shook the officers' patrol car, assaulted the officers and cursed at them. The two were taken in for questioning together with a third suspect, and were released the following morning, in an effort not to ignite the tense atmosphere in the town.
But a week after their release, the brothers decided to file a complaint with the Police Investigations Unit against the officers involved in the arrest. For an hour-and-a-half each brother gave their account of the incident. The two also submitted a medical professional opinion and photographs from the arrest itself.
The brothers' attorney, Giora Zilberstein said, "I hope the Police Investigations Unit looks into the matter thoroughly, and if necessary, puts the officers suspected of committing the offences on trial."
The Tel Aviv District Police said in response last week: "This was an unusual incident of an assault on officers that arrived to a scene of a crime and were attacked by dozens of local residents who beat them and cursed them. Reasonable force was employed in order to keep the order and arrest suspects.
"Even when the suspects were put in the police vehicle, they continued to resist and curse, while one even said he will 'burn the Jews like the Nazis burned them one by one,'" the police said.
