After beating cuffed soldier, IDF major gets lightened sentence
In plea deal, military tribunal demotes Paul Schwartz to captain, puts him on probation, orders him to pay victim NIS 4,000
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An IDF court ordered the demotion of Major Paul Schwartz for striking a subordinate who was handcuffed while being subjected to a court martial on a base in southern Israel two years ago, Israel Radio reported Tuesday. According to the report, the base commander beat the soldier after the private bared his privates.
A Ground Forces Command tribunal reached a plea deal with Schwartz according to which he would be demoted to captain, compensate the victim to the tune of NIS 4,000, and be placed on probation. In exchange, the charges against Schwartz were downgraded from aggravated abuse and assault to the far less severe “domination of subordinates” and “mutual violence while fighting,” the station said.
The soldier, whose identity remained undisclosed, suffered injuries requiring medical treatment in the December 2011 incident.
The victim’s mother said her son had only served on the unnamed base in southern Israel for three days before the incident happened, and contended that his commanding officers were gunning for him — allegedly for not keeping his hair and beard to regulation.
It was not clear from the report what prompted Schwartz to handcuff the soldier during the trial, or why the soldier then mooned his superior officer.
According to Israel Radio correspondent Carmella Menashe, soldiers on the base who witnessed the brutality called her to inform her of the incident, in which Schwartz repeatedly slapped and punched the soldier.
The defendant’s legal counsel, Shalom Pinia, said in an interview with Israel Radio that the IDF Spokesperson’s unit never condemned the incident, and he and his client were only informed of the plea deal a day before it was carried out.
“Everything was done behind closed doors” without consultation with the defense attorney, Pinia said, protesting the leniency given to the officer.
The IDF Spokesperson responded to inquiries by Israel Radio that the charges against Schwartz were amended in consideration of the evidence and the circumstances of the case.
The Times of Israel Community.