Documents missing from Duma attack investigation
Defense charges that missing documents would shed light on material that Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) investigators gave the court before issuing indictment against the defendant; Prosecution admits that two documents are missing, as all attempts to locate them are being made.
During a hearing on the matter in the Jerusalem District Court, the lawyer representing the accused claimed that all investigation material had not been turned over to her. In response, a representative of the prosecution admitted that two documents have not been located and that all relevant officials have been contacted in an attempt to locate the missing material.
Shin Bet and Police investigators arrested the settler as part of the investigation into the Duma attack, which claimed the lives of three members of the same Palestinian family, including an infant. Initially, the Shin Bet and Police officials prevented him from meeting with an attorney, but throughout the course of the investigation it became clear that the young man had nothing to do with the attack on Duma. However, he did confess to an attack on a Palestinian shepherd near the Shilo settlement in the West Bank.
Sinaya Harizi, who represents the accused on behalf of the legal aid organization Honenu, claims that many documents have simply vanished from the investigation. "Since the filing of the indictment almost a year ago, I have yet to receive all the investigation material," said Harizi. "Moreover, the prosecution will not turn over all transcripts of the investigation pertaining to my client. I ask you, how can an investigation that ultimately decides to issue an indictment against a person not be relevant for him during trial?"
In response, the prosecution commented, "The case is being held behind closed doors and therefore we cannot elaborate on details of the case. However, we note that the investigation materials were transferred to the defense in the usual manner with the exception of two documents that were not included in the file, as stated in court."
The legal aid organization Honenu, which is sponsoring the defense, commented by saying, "Some of the documents that 'vanished' shed light on the material Shin Bet investigators presented to the court, material which we know to be retroactively false, as the accused had nothing to do with what happened in Duma."
