Photo: Yariv Katz
Palestinian rape suspects released
After 15 days of investigation, mentally challenged woman who claimed that 2 Palestinians raped her in racist attack changes her account and claims her aunt told her to make it up. Arab MK demands police investigate woman's family.
Two Palestinian suspects who were arrested two weeks ago on suspicion of committing a nationalistically-motivated rape against
a mentally disabled Jewish young woman were released on Wednesday after the alleged victim backtracked on her version of events and admitted that, in fact, “the sex was consensual.”
The case began a little over two weeks ago when the woman filed a complaint with the Tel Aviv police in which she claimed to have been the victim of a violent rape and humiliation based on the fact that she was Jewish. As a result of the woman’s complaint, two Palestinian suspects, Omar Aldin Draghmah (42) from Nablus, and a 17-year-old boy from the territories, were arrested.
During the investigation, the police discovered on the woman’s cell phone that she and the Palestinians had had sexual relationships prior to the complaint.
On Wednesday however, 15 days after the commencement of the investigation, during which the police did not succeed in finding evidence supporting the young woman’s version of events, she confessed that “my auntie told me to say it.”
“According to the rape complaint, the suspects also humiliated the girl while making racist and nationalistic remarks,” said the Tel Aviv local police on Wednesday. “The police opened up an investigation immediately and one day after the complaint had been filed two suspects were arrested. They denied the charges leveled against them. Already by the first stage of the investigation it became clear that the investigation was sensitive and complicated and required a...special investigator from the Ministry of Social Affairs to collect evidence.”
One of the rape suspects (Photo: Yariv Katz)
“After 15 days,” the statement continued, “of an intense investigation, the police drew the conclusion that, at this stage, an insufficient quantity of evidence had been gathered to prove the charges. In light of this fact, it was requested that the arrest of the two individuals not be extended and that they be released under certain conditions.”
Following the woman’s contradictory accounts, the police is currently contemplating how to deal with her and her aunt who, according to the former’s claims, told her to fabricate the story.
Responing to the new developments, MK Issawi Frej (Meretz) called on Wednesday upon the Police Commissioner to instruct that an investigation be launched against the girl’s family. “After Netanyahu and the police slammed Arab nationalism, it turns out that in this case the nationalistic motivations were on the part of the Jews.”
