The Central District Court on Thursday accepted the request of attorneys Adi Keidar and Zion Amir, representing the minor who is a defendant in the Duma case, and ordered his release to house arrest with an ankle monitor and supervision.
After the release decision, the representative of the Central District Attorney’s Office asked the court to delay its decision, in order to appeal it to the Supreme Court.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked on Wednesday said she hopes the court would act mercifully in Thursday’s hearing on the release of the minor accused of the 2015 murder-arson in Duma village.
“The State Attorney’s Office informed me that on July 5, 2018, the court ordered the probation service of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services to examine the possibility of releasing the minor and the possibility of providing him with an ankle monitor.
Shaked was responding to Shas MK Yoav Ben-Tzur’s grievance titled, “The State Prosecutor’s Office supports the continued detention of the minor from the Duma affair despite the circumstances and despite the court’s comments.”
“In light of what has been revealed to the public so far, I hope that the discussion of his detention will be conducted with mercy and the judges will allow the minor to remain outside the detention center for the duration of his trial,” Shaked said.
She added that “In general, as a lesson from this unfinished affair, I suggest that all parties not rush to decide fates according to headlines in the media.”
MK Ben Tzur’s petition read: “It appears that in the Duma case, the prosecution is stuck in a position from which it is unable to withdraw. Senior jurists and professionals have concluded that the minor was not connected to the arson affair. There is no disputing the fact that he was interrogated at maximum severity, he is mentally injured, and yet the State Prosecutor’s Office insists on continuing his detention. Even now, the court ordered the probation service to evaluate his release, contrary to the prosecution’s position.”
On Thursday morning, the District Court in Lod is expected to hold a hearing on the request to release the minor from detention. Honenu attorney Adi Keidar, representing the minor together with attorney Zion Amir Messer, issued a statement saying, “We are all hopeful that after a two-and-a-half-year struggle, at the end of which the minor’s confessions were rejected, and in light of all the serious consequences he has endured and which affected him during the interrogation and detention, the court will order his release from detention, as was recommended by the probation service.”