Guards charged with assaulting Arabs acquitted

Court says two security guards attacked before badly beating up Arabs in Jaffa Port

Naama Cohen-Friedman|Last update: 12.22.10 , 17:13

The Tel Aviv District Court acquitted Wednesday two security guards from Jaffa accused of assaulting Arab youngsters who lit a bonfire at the Jaffa Port.

The court accepted the claims made by the guards, Samandar Nazarov, 31, and Roman Agronov, 22, who said they were first attacked by the complainants and therefore acted in self-defense.

The judges ruled that the guards were indeed assaulted first with a broken vodka bottle and a burning piece of wood and therefore acted in self-defense, despite the grave harm caused to the young Arabs.

The court ruled that the guards faced "immediate, tangible danger" and that they acted properly as required of them, ceasing the violence once the danger was gone. The judges added that the guards used their judgment at any given moment during the incident and did not act based on a desire for revenge.

The two guards were charged with beating the Arabs, kicking them, and threatening them with weapons. One of the wounded lost consciences and required surgery.

The incident occurred after six Arab youngsters lit a bonfire, which the guards claim was fed by a tree uprooted at a park on site. During the altercation, one guard hit complainant Yusef Abu Issa until he fell to the ground, with the second guard joining in and kicking him. Abu Issa suffered a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage as result and was taken to hospital for a head operation.

Another complainant was beaten up with a gun, had his jaw broken, and lost some teeth.