Ahead of indictments, suspects in Sde Teiman abuse case to be sent to house arrest
Defense, prosecution come to agreement to extend five suspects’ remands, as Military Police probe of alleged sexual abuse of Palestinian detainee expected to wrap up
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Five reserve soldiers suspected of the sexual abuse of a Palestinian terror detainee at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel were to be released to house arrest on Tuesday.
The move comes as the Military Police was expected to wrap up its investigation into the high-profile abuse case, and potentially file indictments against the suspects, subject to a hearing.
In all, 10 soldiers at the Sde Teiman detention facility were detained on July 29 for the suspected sexual abuse of a Hamas police officer who had been arrested in the Gaza Strip several weeks prior. Prosecutors did not seek to hold the other five soldiers in custody, following new evidence in the case.
The investigation into the soldiers was launched after the detained terror suspect was brought from the base to a hospital with signs of serious abuse, including to his anus.
According to the IDF, the soldiers were suspected of aggravated sodomy (a charge equivalent to rape), causing bodily harm under aggravated circumstances, abuse under aggravated circumstances, and conduct unbecoming of a soldier.
Some of the suspects were also suspected of assault and interfering with the work of public servants, the IDF said.
Footage aired by Channel 12 news last week showed soldiers at Sde Teiman taking aside a detainee, who had been lying face down on the floor, then surrounding him with riot shields while they allegedly committed the abuse.
Military prosecutors said Tuesday that they were seeking to extend the detention of the five remaining suspects until August 22.
Meanwhile, the defense said that it had come to an agreement with the prosecution to extend the suspects’ remands, while releasing them to house arrest.
The agreement between the prosecution and defense was to be presented to judges at a military court during a remand hearing later on Tuesday.
The reservists were arrested by masked Military Police detectives at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel on July 29. After the arrests, a mob of far-right activists and lawmakers broke into the base and demonstrated, and later stormed the Beit Lid base where the suspects were being held and questioned.
Throughout the Israel-Hamas war, Sde Teiman has been used to hold more than 1,000 detainees from Gaza who were suspected of terrorist activity. The vast majority were suspected of taking part in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Terror operatives and other suspects are generally initially held in detention facilities at the IDF’s Sde Teiman, Anatot, and Ofer bases, before being handed over to the Israel Prison Service. The detainees can legally be held for 45 days before they must be either released or moved into the care of the IPS.
The IDF announced in May that it was investigating suspicions of abuse and torture of detainees in Sde Teiman following reports that the prisoners were being severely mistreated.
The reports alleged widespread abuse of prisoners, including extreme use of physical restraints, beatings, neglect of medical problems, arbitrary punishments, and more.
