France to indict suspects for hit-and-run in Israel
Israeli police believe two Jewish Frenchmen struck Lee Zeitouni with an SUV and fled the country in 2011
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French prosecutors said they will indict two Jewish Frenchmen suspected in a hit-and-run incident in Israel.
French officials delivered the news to the former boyfriend of Lee Zeitouni, a fitness instructor who died after a black SUV struck her in Tel Aviv in 2011 and drove off, Israel’s Army Radio reported.
Israeli police believe Claude Isaac Khayat and Eric Roubi were in the car that struck Zeitouni. They are believed to have flown back to France shortly after the incident to avoid standing trial.
Israel has requested they be extradited, but the request was denied because under French law French citizens may only be extradited to European Union member states.
The two suspects have denied the allegations, but Roee Peled, who was Zeitouni’s boyfriend, has presented an audio recording in which Khayat allegedly admitted to the killing.
“We received rather good news that they will be indicted,” Peled told Army Radio on Thursday. “From the very first day until those two are in prison we have pursued the same path with the same determination and perseverance, even if it was going to take us ten years.”
The indictment will be for manslaughter, withholding assistance to a person in danger and negligence, Peled said.
If convicted, the two suspects face up to 10 years in jail, according to Army Radio.
The Times of Israel Community.