Court indicts J'lem teen for manslaughter
Jewish stabber not charged with murder. Other teens involved in murder of Arab man to stand trial for aggravated assault, obstruction of justice. Father of victim: 'My son brutally murdered for speaking Arabic'
Indictments were filed Sunday with the Jerusalem District Court against four Jewish teens that were involved in a brawl in Jerusalem, in which 24-year-old Hussam Rawidi was killed.
The main suspect, who allegedly stabbed the victim, was indicted for manslaughter, while his three friends were charged with aggravated assault, obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting after the fact.
Two of the suspects reside in settlements and the others are Jerusalem residents.
Jerusalem police learned that the February 10 incident occurred on Angelo Levi Bianchini Street in central Jerusalem at around 2 am, after the Jewish teens had vodka earlier that evening. They encountered Rawidi and his friend, and began shouting racial slurs at them, such as: "Death to Arabs" and "You're all sons-of-bitches."
One of the suspects at court (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
According to the indictment, after a short while and for no apparent reason, a clash broke out when one Jewish teenager began to hit Rawidi and was joined by his friends. The violent incident continued for a few minutes, during which the defendant beat every part of the victim's body.
At one point the man charged with manslaughter drew a razor, stabbing Rawidi in the face, head and neck.
The indictment describes how despite the fact that Rawidi layed helplessly on the ground, bleeding to death, the suspects continued to beat him brutality while shouting racial slurs. The victim and his friend tried to recover and ran towards Hillel Street as the defendant ran after them.
Rawidi eventually managed to call the police before he collapsed and lost consciousness. "He was in
critical condition when he was taken to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center for further treatment," the indictment stated. "At around 3:35 am, after many attempts to resuscitate him, doctors pronounced him dead from the stab wounds and loss of blood."
Shortly after the assault, with his hands still bloodstained, the stabber asked his two friends to return to the crime scene and take the razor he had left behind and one the glasses of one of the victims. The State claimed this was an attempt to disrupt the investigation proceedings.
Rawidi's father, Hussein, was frustrated with these new developments and said on Sunday that "the indictment should be for homicide not manslaughter. If this doesn’t change it means that the Israeli court has no justice. It was a quarrel over racial issues. They murdered my son in a cruel manner after they heard him speaking Arabic. Lawyers might be willing to lie for money, it's their job, but I want justice. I call upon all those who support me and oppose racism to stand firm against this decision to charge them only with manslaughter."
Racial motive?
Attorney Adi Kedar, who represents the alleged stabber said: "I'd like to believe there were many signs this was a quarrel, and so it cannot be a murder offence. My client didn't even know they were Arab or what the brawl was about. He saw his friends involved in a quarrel and joined in. According to his version, he came to help his friends and didn't do anything based on racism or intentionally."
Attorney Ariel Atari, who represents one of the settlers, said: "A man was killed and we're all sorry for this harsh outcome, but the indictment shows my client had nothing to do with the killing. We hope he'll be released in the next few days. I believe no one can be proud of the teenagers' behavior in this case, but brawls like this often take place around the country. It's wasn't a nationalistic quarrel and they didn't hurt them because they were Arab."
- Follow Ynetnews on Facebook
