Prosecutors close case against anti-overhaul protester allegedly beaten by cops
Amitai Aboudi’s lawyer says police used claim of criminal conduct as justification for violence; officers accused of excessive force still awaiting results of internal probe
Prosecutors have closed a case against Amitai Aboudi, a protester against the government’s contentious judicial overhaul who was allegedly the victim of police violence when he was arrested in July, according to a new report.
The five officers accused of using excessive force against Aboudi are awaiting the results of an investigation by the Justice Ministry’s Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI).
Yair Hanuna, the head of Tel Aviv’s Yasam special patrol unit, was seen in widely circulated images apparently punching 18-year-old protester Aboudi after he had already been handcuffed.
Aboudi was questioned by police on at least three occasions since the incident, with officers alleging he had tried to interfere with attempts to clear protesters from the Ayalon Highway on that day.
The Haaretz newspaper said Monday that Aboudi was investigated on suspicion of a number of offenses, including blocking traffic, violating public order, assaulting a police officer and possession of drugs.
It was also alleged that he spat at Hanuna. The police officer has claimed that in the images in which he appeared to be hitting Aboudi, he was in fact trying to move the protester’s head so that he would not be able to spit at him.
Tel Aviv prosectors did not say why they were closing the case, Haaretz reported.
Ran Tagar, an attorney who represented Aboudi on behalf of the protest movement, told the newspaper that police had used the allegations against his client “to justify the brutal violence they used against him during his arrest.”
“Today, half a year after the incident, the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office decided to close the case, and for good reason,” Tagar said.
“I’m sorry that Amitai and his family had to go through this saga, which was unnecessary in every aspect, and I’m happy with the decision of the prosecutor’s office to shelve the case,” he added.
הי @10elilevi
אמיתי בריליאנט בן 18 מוסר ד"ש pic.twitter.com/3e9tYk7ePy— יוסי מזרחי Yossi Mizrachi (@yosimiz1) July 25, 2023
In video of Aboudi’s arrest, he was seen being hit and dragged by a group of police officers.
In a photo of the incident, Hanuna could be seen apparently smiling while allegedly hitting Aboudi. Police have denied that Hanuna hit the teen after he was subdued.
The incident came amid chaotic protests across the country after the government passed a law curtailing judicial oversight over the decisions of elected officials based on their reasonableness — the first major piece of legislation in its contentious overhaul package — a law that was ultimately struck down by the High Court earlier this month.
Videos from those demonstrations showed police kicking protesters who were lying on the ground, throwing burning pallets toward them, dragging activists by their hair and using violence during arrests of those allegedly blocking roads and highways, including some who were not resisting arrest.
לכבוד תשעה באב, משטרת ישראל גוררת שוב את הנער אמיתי עבודי לחקירה.
כן, אתם קוראים נכון, אחרי ששוטרים פוצצו אותו במכות וגררו בשערות למעצר (שימו לב לחיוך של השוטר האלים), הם מנסים עכשיו לתפור לו תיק.
מי שיכול בואו לתחנת סלמה 18 תל אביב.@EstyS pic.twitter.com/dFwAgYvV4s— yayafink (יאיא פינק) (@yayafink) July 27, 2023
Multiple complaints by protesters have been filed against Hanuna, including that he broke a demonstrator’s nose at a rally in Tel Aviv and choked another until he almost lost consciousness.
Hanuna and the other officers involved in the alleged violence were not wearing bodycams at the time of the arrest, in contravention of regulations, Kan news reported.
When the officers came in for questioning last year, dozens of their uniformed colleagues gathered outside the DIPI offices in Tel Aviv in support, obstructing the flow of traffic as they cheered their arrival.
Kan news reported at the time that Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai phoned Hanuna to express his support.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir paid a solidarity visit to the Yasam offices where he told officers that the behavior by the DIPI — which is in charge of probing allegations of police brutality — was “puzzling and very grave.”\
