Sister of detainee accused of abusing terror suspect urges nonviolent protest at military court

A sister of one of the nine soldiers accused of abusing a Hamas terror suspect in prison calls for a protest outside the military prison where he’s being held, but insists it be nonviolent.

“Every Israeli who wants to avoid the growing rift in our society should come to Beit Lid to protest these arrests, which are unfounded, but we don’t want any violence or disturbances because that would only further the rift,” Orian Ben Chitrit tells reporters outside the Beit Lid military court, where her brother and eight others are held as they are investigated for allegedly assaulting and raping the prisoner.

Ephraim Dimri, a litigator representing one of the suspects, tells reporters that his client and the other detainees deny any wrongdoing. He acknowledges that the prisoner had injuries to his rectum, which led to suspicions that soldiers assaulted him.

“We are Jews. That’s not what we do. There is no way this is true,” the sister says of the allegations.

“We know how the injuries were caused, the truth will come out, but we’re not about to reveal our legal defense here to the media,” Dimri says. The detainees are reservists from Unit 100 who were trained specifically in guarding terrorists, he adds.

Several dozen protesters and family members of the detainees are waiting outside the military court for a decision on whether the detainees will be arraigned.