The family of an IDF soldier killed during a raid on a West Bank refugee camp lashes out at the state and military prosecutors for not appointing an ensemble of judges in the suspected assailant’s trial authorized to hand down a death penalty.
“This is a disgrace for which I have no words. The legal system is placing itself above the political system and deciding what will be before the start of the trial,” Vladimir Lubarsky, father of Ronen Lubarsky, tells reporters outside the Ofer military court in the West Bank.
“The panel of judges does not allow the death penalty. This is a disgrace,” he adds. “We want to prevent the next murder so there won’t be more bereaved families.”
Under current Israeli military law, the death penalty can be imposed if unanimously supported by three judges with a rank of lieutenant colonel or higher. The panel of judges appointed to the case does not meet this criteria.
Lubarsky, a soldier in the elite Duvdevan unit, died in May hours after being seriously wounded by a stone slab dropped on his head in the al-Am’ari refugee camp near Ramallah.
The suspect, Islam Yousef Abu Hamid, was arrested in a daylight raid on the camp in June. Hamid’s murder trial begins today.
Vladimir Lubarsky (R) and Arik Lubarsky speak to reporters outside the Ofer military court in the West Bank on August 15, 2018. (Choosing Life Forum)
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
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