Suspended IDF general suspected of rape

Military prosecutors on Tuesday said an IDF brigadier general under investigation for sexual misconduct is suspected of five counts of rape, sodomy and indecent assault against a subordinate female soldier over an extended period of time.

The officer has been suspended from duty pending a Military Police investigation into the claims made by a female soldier who served under him some four to five years ago, an IDF spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Brigadier General Ofek Buchris’s name was initially banned from publication, but a gag order on the suspected officer’s name was lifted Tuesday night.

Buchris, who is said to be in line for a promotion, flatly denied the allegations against him and said he never had any sexual contact with the woman.

הותר לפרסום: הקצין החשוד בעבירות אונס ומעשי סדום בחיילת – תא"ל אופק בוכריס pic.twitter.com/VTvUOAJZrn

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“The officer is optimistic that at the end of the Military Police investigation he will be able to return to his important work in the defense establishment to which he has devoted his life,” Buchris’s lawyer Oded Savouri said, according to a report in Channel 2.

During a special hearing convened at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, his attorneys submitted two polygraph tests to the court in support of his innocence, and requested the defendant’s identity remain under gag order. The lie detection tests indicated he was telling the truth, according to the TV report.

But Judge Maya Heller said military prosecutors had presented the court with “sufficient evidence” implicating Buchris, and noted she was in favor of publicly identifying him to spur other victims to step forward.

Heller said the court would not grant the prosecutor’s request to publicly identify the officer until at least Wednesday, when his counsel said it would appeal the lifting of the gag order.

“If he is identified, it would cause irreparable damage to his reputation,” Savouri said.

According to reports, Buchris was injured in the line of duty some 10 years ago and is considered by many in the IDF to be a gifted military leader.

On Thursday, the head of the IDF’s Southern Command Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir suspended a male battalion commander and female subordinate officer for conduct unbecoming and abuse of power, in light of a Military Police investigation.

The two suspended officers — a lieutenant colonel and captain — are believed to have had an inappropriate relationship. Though that investigation is ongoing, there was enough evidence and suspicion to warrant the disciplinary measure.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.