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Court orders military to press stronger charges against soldiers who shot a Palestinian civilian
01/07/2009
Source : IMEMC
by Ghassan Bannoura
The Israeli High Court of Justice ordered on Wednesday the Israeli military to press stronger charges against a an officer after shooting a bound and blindfolded Palestinian civilian in the West Bank.
The court decssion came based on a petition by Israeli human rights organizations B’Tselem, ACRI, PCATI and Yesh Din on behalf of the victim Ashraf Abu Rahmeh, 27.
The incident was documented by a young teen that was in her home close by, and was published on Youtube.
The petitioners demanded that the indictments filed against the soldier who fired the shot, Staff Sergeant L., and the platoon commander, Lieutenant Col. Omri Borberg, be changed so as to reflect the severity of the offenses.
Using a weapon to intimidate, and shooting a handcuffed detainee may amount to abuse of detainee under aggravated circumstances, an offense that carries a penalty of seven years in prison. In the petition, attorneys Limor Yehuda and Dan Yakir from ACRI stated that the decision of the Military Prosecutor to charge the soldier and commander with “unbecoming conduct”, an offense which does not appear on criminal records, is highly unreasonable and conveys an alarming message of disrespect for human lives, laying the foundation for future incidents of abuse.
Last September Abu Rahmeh , from the village of Bil’in, scene of weekly protests against the Israeli wall, sustained critical wounds in his leg and was left to bleed for some time until the soldiers allowed an ambulance to take to a nearby hospital in the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
The victim was in a solidarity peaceful protest in the nearby Nil’ in village, he recalled that day. “I was blindfolded, they took me near the army vehicles then I heard shoots, I fleet pain in my leg, like someone have cut it off, I fall-down on the ground, I was so scared, the soldiers said they will kill me if they see me again” Abu Rahmeh told IMEMC over the phone.
“I was lucky, my case was documented. There are hundreds of other similar cases like main that go undocumented and continue to occur with impunity.” Abu Rahmeh added.
On the 17th of April, 2009, Abu Rahmeh brother Bassem was shot and killed with a tear gas canister by an Israeli soldier at a peaceful demonstration against the wall in Bil’in.
The platoon commander, Lieutenant Col. Omri Borberg’s attorneys said on Wednesday that at no point during the incident did he command the soldier to or imagine he would shoot the Palestinian. In the video shows Borberg holding Abu Rahmeh, while a soldier under his command shoots him point blank in the foot.
video
