Reservist who shot hero civilian dead amid terror attack released from house arrest
Military prosecution is awaiting results of pathology and ballistic reports before deciding whether to prosecute Aviad Frija for reckless homicide
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Israel Defense Forces reservist Aviad Frija, who fatally shot Yuval Castleman at the scene of a terror attack in Jerusalem, has been released from house arrest following an agreement reached between the military prosecution and Frija’s defense team.
Frija has been under supervised house arrest since the terror attack on November 30, during which he opened fire on the two terrorists who carried out the attack, but also shot dead Castleman, an armed civilian who had also opened fire on the terrorists.
Castleman had put his gun down and was holding his hands in the air, shouting “Don’t shoot.” Frija was arrested four days later on suspicion of reckless homicide.
Frija’s military lawyers welcomed the decision late Tuesday to release him from house arrest, noting that he has cooperated fully with the investigation.
“We believe that at the end of the investigation, the military advocate general’s office will be convinced that the reserve soldier Aviad Frija acted in good faith and out of a genuine belief that he was eliminating one of the terrorists who was still a threat to him and others,” said the attorneys, Col. (res.) Shlomi Zipori and Col. (res.) Ran Cohen Rochverger.
The military prosecution is now waiting for ballistic and pathology reports, which have been somewhat delayed, and will then formulate a decision as to whether to charge Frija, a process expected to take another few weeks.
Three people were killed and five were injured by two Hamas terrorists in the November attack when they opened fire at commuters waiting at a bus stop. Castleman was driving on the other side of the street when the attack occurred; he stopped his car, crossed the road and rushed at the terrorists and fired at them.
Frija was one of two off-duty reserve soldiers who also responded to the attack, but he apparently mistook Castleman for a third assailant.
Graphic video from the scene showed Castleman toss his gun, fall on his knees and raise his hands in the air while shouting, “Don’t shoot” as the soldiers approached him. He was then shot again.
Castleman also reportedly yelled at the soldiers before he collapsed, “Look at my ID, I’m Jewish.”
Castleman’s father said following the death of his son that Frija “carried out an execution,” and demanded a thorough investigation.
Yuval “did everything he needed to do so they could identify him. He went down on his knees, opened his jacket to show he didn’t have any explosives on him, yelled at them, ‘Don’t shoot, I’m Jewish, I’m Israeli,’ and they continued to shoot him,” he told Army Radio, adding that Yuval was shot in the jaw and chin, which would have impeded his ability to call for aid.
Frija’s lawyers insisted on Tuesday night that the circumstances of the incident meant that no criminal charges could be brought.
“In the extreme operational circumstances in which he acted during a face-to-face encounter with a terror cell, there is no place whatsoever for a criminal prosecution. This is not a criminal incident but an operational error, and that is how it should be addressed,” said Zipori and Rochverger.
