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Photo: Zvika Tishler
The soldier who shot Strug
Photo: Zvika Tishler

Soldier who shot comrade to death is in 'bad emotional state'

With cause of incident still unclear, remand of Duvdevan combat soldier who accidentally shot dead his close friend Staff Sergeant Strug is extended until Wednesday; his lawyer says he is suffering from depression, broke down in tears several times during investigation.

The Duvdevan Unit combat soldier who shot his friend Shachar Strug to death is in a bad emotional state, heavily medicated and having trouble coming to grips with the tragedy, his lawyer said Thursday.

 

 

The tragic incident took place in a Duvdevan base in the central region, when Staff Sergeant Strug, 20, and his friend were in their room. Strug was hit by one bullet to the chest in what the army initially suspected to have been gunplay that ended fatally for the young soldier.

 

The shooter remains adamant the incident "was an accident, not gunplay. We practiced drawing a gun in a room on-base, as is common in the unit. He's my best friend, and I didn't know it was loaded."

 

The soldier being led into military court (Photo: Zvika Tishler)
The soldier being led into military court (Photo: Zvika Tishler)

 

A Military Police investigator said Tuesday the soldier is suspected of obstructing justice by deleting text messages and call history after the incident, but retracted his allegation after it became clear that a mistake was made when the soldier's phone was examined.

 

IDF Military Advocate General attorney Maj. Merav Hershkovitz-Yitzhaki slammed the Military Police for wasting several days investigating false suspicions, claiming it led them to more harshly interrogate her client and calling their actions "negligent."

 

"He collapsed in prison, he is treated with medication. The interrogations are very difficult on him. The man he shot dead was a good and beloved friend of his, but during interrogations he was asked painful questions, such as, 'How will Shachar's family react?' What hurts and saddens the soldier most is the fact that the family of the deceased has heard about it."

 

Strug's friends outside the family's Givatayim residence (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Strug's friends outside the family's Givatayim residence (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

 

She added that her client broke down in tears during several of his interrogations and the reenactment of the incident. This was confirmed in the hearing by an investigator, who admitted the filming of the reenactment had to be halted several times because the soldier broke down in tears and was too distraught to continue, prompting the unit commander to step in and calm him down.

 

The investigator added that on Wednesday, during an interrogation, the soldier began sobbing when pictures of himself and Strug came up while his interrogators examined with him the contents of his cell phone.

 

Shachar Strug
Shachar Strug

 

"He is very pained and saddened by the tragic event," his lawyer said. "There is no good and bad in this sad tale, everyone is miserable."

 

Despite the request to release the soldier to spend the Passover holiday at home, his remand was extended until April 4 after the judge ruled that this decision was subject to the prison warden's discretion.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.29.18, 22:08
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