Ex-hostage Rom Braslavski gives police testimony on alleged assault outside club

Former hostage Rom Braslavski arrived Wednesday at a  Tel Aviv police station to give testimony regarding his alleged assault outside a nightclub in the city by the boyfriend of well-known singer Nasrin Kadri.

Braslavski was reportedly refused entry to a party at a bar on Rothschild Boulevard on Saturday evening, and claims that an ensuing argument turned violent, during which the star’s partner, former reality show contestant David Ziton, attacked him.

Speaking to the media as he entered the police station, Braslavski said he could smell alcohol and drugs on Ziton and described him as being in a frenzy,

Referring to Ziton, Braslavski said he rained down blows “as though he were a Hamas activist.”

“It was very hard for me,” he said, describing it as “a crazy incident.”

Braslavski also referred to the furor surrounding a telephone conversation with Kadri, who called him to apologize over the clash.

“I ask that people stop bashing me on the web,” Braslavski said. “I’m the one who was attacked, I’m the one who was punched in the face by a drunk and drugged person who couldn’t control himself. It was the most shocking thing that has ever happened to me. I didn’t think I would be attacked here inside Israel.”

His attorney, Efraim Dimri, said in a statement that the incident caused “physical and most of all emotional damage” and that his client’s mental health had deteriorated over the past few days.

According to the Ynet outlet, which did not cite sources, Braslavski maintained his version of events to investigators.

He also denied that he was drunk at the time of the clash, pointing out that he does not drink as part of the treatment he has been receiving since being released from Hamas captivity.

Tel Aviv Magistrate’s court on Monday released Ziton to house arrest until Friday.

The Walla outlet reported that during the hearing, prosecutors presented video of the altercation, which showed that at one point, Ziton kicked Braslavski as he was lying on the ground, an action that counters Ziton’s claim of self-defense.

After the altercation, Kadri called Braslavski, and a recording of parts of the conversation was reported on Monday by the media.

Kadri on Tuesday published a post on her Instagram page charging that the circulated recordings were edited. She also included a recording of the entire conversation, stressing it showed that at no point did she ask Braslavski not to file a complaint with the police. She did, however, note that she asked Braslavski “to not cause a media mess for me and to drag me into the matter.”

Kadri said her conversation with Braslavski was “the cleanest and purest that could be in order to apologize, and even had nothing to do with who the accused is in this story.”

Braslavski was reportedly refused entry to a party at a bar on Rothschild Boulevard on Saturday evening.

According to Channel 12 news, he said that he had received a personal invitation from Kadri, but when he arrived at the entrance, she was no longer there.

Braslavski told the outlet that the star’s partner, Ziton, yelled at him that “nobody invited you,” and an argument broke out between the two, which culminated in the alleged assault.

It was unclear if the former hostage was injured.

Braslavski, who was freed in October after two years of captivity in Gaza, was kidnapped on October 7, 2023, while working as a security guard at the Nova music festival near Re’im. Over 370 people were killed when terrorists stormed the festival and carried out acts of brutality and sexual assault, and dozens were taken hostage.

Braslavski revealed in November that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who held him captive in Gaza repeatedly sexually assaulted and tortured him.