Deputy AG: Duma arson suspects of sound mind and body
Prosecutor's statement to be filed against two Duma arson suspects in order to allow more time to prepare charges against them; judge orders release of groom from 'wedding of hate.'
Deputy Attorney-General Raz Nazri has visited the Duma arson suspects to look into allegations that the Shin Bet is using torture to extract confessions from them, saying there were gaps between complaints made by the detainees and claims made on their behalf to the media.
Nazri sent a letter to Attorney Adi Keidar, who represents one of the suspects, to report on his visit. "I conducted an official visit to the Shin Bet facility on Saturday night," Nazri wrote. "The conversations with the detainees were held in private, without the presence of a guard or a Shin Bet interrogator in the cell.
"Our impression was that the detainees' physical and mental state is sound, and that there is a significant gap between complaints coming directly from them to some of the claims made on their behalf in public. The complaints and grievances raised were recorded by us, and will be passed on to the Shin Bet's 'complaints comptroller.' Some of the detainees also presented us with various requests that were passed on to the relevant parties.
"All meetings were recorded by an attorney from my department, and as is the norm with official visits, a report will be issued about the visit, which will be passed on to the Shin Bet and Prisons Service."
Meanwhile, the State Attorney is expected to file a prosecutor's statement on Wednesday against two of the suspects in the Duma arson attack that claimed the lives of three members of the Dawabsheh family.
Last week, the Shin Bet and Israel Police announced further progress in the Duma arson investigation, but no further details can be reported as a gag order has been placed on the investigation.
By the end of this week, the suspects will have been under arrest for 30 days. The law dictates that an indictment must be filed within 30 days, but the Shin Bet does not yet know if and when indictments will be filed and on what charges.
The prosecutor's statement is used to allow the State Attorney and the police to complete the work on the indictments. This requires keeping the suspects under arrest in order to prevent them from obstructing the investigation.
On Tuesday, the Lod District Court ordered the release of one of the suspects, rejecting an appeal by the State Attorney and the police and upholding a decision made by the Petah Tikva Magistrate Court the previous day.
The suspect was interrogated by the Shin Bet for 29 days, under suspicion of involvement in the murder of the Dawabsheh family in the West Bank village of Duma in July, but the prosecutor's statement against him filed on Monday related to a different case.
He is expected to be under house arrest for 10 days. However, he is likely to be arrested again as the State Attorney plans to file an indictment against him in the coming days, and will then request to keep him in custody until the end of legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, Judge Joya Skappa-Shapiro decided on Wednesday to release Yakir Ashbal, the groom from the "wedding of hate," during which guests were filmed celebrating the killing of baby Ali Dawabsheh.
