Two set to be indicted for Duma killings within 5 days

According to declaration submitted by state prosecutors, prime suspect to be charged with murder

One of the suspects arrested in connection with the Dawabsha murder, December 3, 2015. Under a court-issued gag order, the identities of the suspects cannot be revealed. (Screen capture)
One of the suspects arrested in connection with the Dawabsha murder, December 3, 2015. Under a court-issued gag order, the identities of the suspects cannot be revealed. (Screen capture)

The main suspect in the fatal Duma firebombing attack will be indicted for murder within five days, according to a document submitted Wednesday by the state prosecutors managing the case.

According to the document, which was seen by the Haaretz daily, the key Jewish suspect in the attack will be charged with murder, while a second detainee will be indicted on as-yet unspecified charges. The report indicated that the second suspect will also be indicted for the July attack, which killed three members of the Dawabsha family.

The prosecutors said the indictments would be filed within five days at the Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court. The two were allegedly directly involved in the planning and orchestration of the fatal firebombing.

The detention of the main suspect was extended by the court on Wednesday. One of the two suspects is an adult, and the other is a minor.

Riham and Saad Dawabsha and their 18-month-old baby Ali died in the July 31 attack on their home in Duma in the West Bank — Ali in the blaze started by the firebomb and his parents in the following days. The sole surviving member of the family, five-year-old Ahmed, is being treated for severe burns in an Israeli hospital. The Shin Bet has arrested dozens of far-rightists in connection to the attack, but so far no indictments have been filed.

On Sunday, Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri visited the Shin Bet facility where the prisoners were being held, in order to determine if they had been subject to abuse. The visit came following allegations from the suspects’ attorneys that they were tortured.

Saad and Riham Dawabsha, with baby Ali (Channel 2 screenshot)
Saad and Riham Dawabsha, with baby Ali (Channel 2 screenshot)

The Shin Bet and the government have denied the claims, although the Shin Bet has acknowledged “manhandling” the suspects, having classified them as “ticking bombs” who may have information on future planned attacks.

An attorney for the suspects told Channel 2 that Nizri did not speak to the detainees at length and the visit was insufficient to gauge the extent of the abuse. Nizri on Wednesday rejected this claim, and stressed that his visit was conducted within the correct legal framework.

Raz Nizri (photo credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash90)
Raz Nizri (photo credit: Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

Lawyers have alleged that the Shin Bet is using extraordinary measures against the suspects — whose names remain under gag order — to extract information about the deadly firebombing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials have endorsed the Shin Bet’s handling of the case.

Nizri wrote in a statement Wednesday that “the physical and mental condition of the detainees was acceptable” and that there was “a gulf” between what was being alleged on their behalf and what they themselves had to say.

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