Israeli security at the scene of a terror in Jerusalem, November 30, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The reserves soldier accused of shooting civilian Yuval Castleman to death while responding to a terror attack has been ordered to be released to house arrest.
The decision to free Staff Sgt. (res.) Aviad Frija is made after a military court judge notes questions regarding the strength of the prosecution’s evidence, according to the Ynet news site.
Frija was one of two off-duty troops who responded to a terror attack at a Jerusalem bus stop on Thursday, shooting at the two assailants but also at Castleman, an armed civilian who had also opened fire at the terrorists.
Yuval Castleman. (Courtesy)
Frija is accused of firing at Castleman after he had put his gun down and was holding his hands in the air. He was questioned Sunday and arrested the next day.
A lawyer representing Castleman expresses dismay over the decision.
“The fact is Yuval was shot to death while he was putting his hands up, had pushed away his gun, opened his jacket and took out his wallet to show that he had an Israeli ID, while yelling in Hebrew not to shoot,” the attorney says, demanding an “appropriate punishment.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
