Negev man accused of burning his teenage sister to death
Court extends remand of 23-year-old from Bedouin city of Rahat on suspicion of murder; brother accused of concealing evidence
A 23-year-old man was remanded on Friday for a further five days in custody on suspicion of murdering his younger sister in the Bedouin city of Rahat in a so-called “honor killing.”
Police were called on February 24 to a suspected arson fire at the family home, and rescued the 19-year-old woman who was inside. She died a few days later in hospital.
Police initially thought the death was a suicide after investigators concluded the woman had been doused with flammable liquid. After an investigation, suspicion has fallen on her brother.
The brother, Mohammed Shurbaji, was arrested on May 21 on suspicion of killing his sister, who has not been named. Three days later her 25-year-old brother, Halil, was also arrested on suspicion of concealing the crime and obstruction of justice.
Police had interviewed family members several times following the death.
When questioned, Mohammed claimed that he was not at home at the time of the fire.
In a hearing at the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court, the judge said that despite the seriousness of the charges, the police did not have sufficient evidence and therefore there was no justification for prolonged detention.
The brothers were remanded in custody for another five days.
“We learned from the court that the evidence collected by police did not justify a long extension to their detention, which the police had requested,” said Herzl Samila, the brothers’ defense attorney.
“This is a serious incident,” the lawyer said. “There is a chance that the brother was not involved and will have to live with the feeling that the police have falsely accused him and his brother.”
The murder of a female family member for perceived sexual or social indiscretions is often called an “honor killing,” and is common in many parts of the Arab world.
Though Israel’s Arab community makes up a fifth of the population, Arab women account for half the female victims of murder each year.
Arab Joint List MK Aida Touma-Sliman, who heads the parliamentary committee on the status of women and gender equality, has accused police of not doing enough to investigate perpetrators of such murders, noting in a Knesset debate last November on the subject that 15 women had been killed in the Ramle-Lod area in 2016, but only three men have been charged.
“What kind of message is given to the population and what kind of message is given to the perpetrators?” she asked. “You can kill and you will still go on free. And for the women it is a clear message from the police that nobody can protect you.”
