Court: No jail for soldier convicted of assault
Military court rules former Kfir Brigade deputy commander sufficiently punished during detention, decides not to demote or imprison him for beating Palestinians
Lieutenant Adam Malul, former deputy company commander of the Kfir Brigade, who was convicted of assaulting a number of Palestinian detainees, will not be demoted or imprisoned for a further period.
The military court ruled that the 64 days Malul had been in detention and the 32 days under house arrest were sufficient punishment. His mother, Ruthi, burst into tears upon hearing the ruling.
The judges noted that though Malul's behavior was unacceptable, and despite the breakdown of command, the fact that the violence was not extreme should be taken into account. It should also be remembered, they said, that he had contributed five years of his life to the IDF.
Upon leaving his trial, Malul said, "I feel today is a small victory after a difficult year. The judges understood I had no intention of hurting innocent people, but was acting with the objective of achieving an operational goal."
Malul added, "Even though there are still some disagreements along the way, the most important thing is that the judges noted that I did not do what I did for the sake of violence."
Malul also said that it would be hard for him to behave in this way in the future, and that the military should formulate a policy regarding the use of force. "If we don't operate in the right way, we will find ourselves the victims of attacks and terror. I am not willing to go through that again, even if it means that next time I am operating on the ground I'll be compelled to act in a more restrained manner."
Nightmare has come to an end
His mother Ruthi said that a nightmare had finally come to an end. "My son will continue to contribute to the state, will continue to excel, and that the army will understand what a problematic situation our soldiers find themselves in," she said.
Malul's defense lawyer said the sentence had found the right balance. "Malul has gone through a tough year, together with his family," he said. However, the prosecution is preparing to appeal the sentencing.
At the end of September 2008, during a patrol, soldiers in a military vehicle arrested a group of Palestinians. According to the indictment filed by prosecution, the patrol's medic butted one of the Palestinians with this helmet, kneed him in the stomach and ripped his shirt, while the company commander did nothing to stop him. The medic also beat another Palestinian, and pushed a third Palestinian who questioned what was going on.
Later, the commander instructed the soldiers to search some Palestinians, and hit one of them. The medic pushed one against a wall, choked him, kicked him and hit him on the head. According to the indictment, the two soldiers continued to search the Palestinians aggressively, slapping their face and neck and shaking them.
The trial attracted a lot of media attention. During the process, then Kfir commander Colonel Itai Virob confronted then GOC Central Command Gadi Shamni about what was permitted and what was forbidden during a military operation. Despite Malul's attempts to show there is a grey area regarding permitted behavior, and that commanders should be granted a certain amount of leeway, the judges convicted him of assault.
