Woman jailed after retracting rape claim against husband – report

A twenty-something mother of three from the northern city of Migdal Ha’emek was arrested by police after she withdrew a rape complaint against her husband.

According to a report Sunday in the Haaretz daily, the unnamed woman approached police a week and a half ago and filed a complaint saying that her husband, who was also unnamed, had raped her. He was subsequently detained.

However, the woman returned to the station several days later and told officers that while her allegations were true, she wished to drop the charges against her husband. After being rebuffed, she returned a third time and retracted entirely her earlier allegations.

The woman was then arrested on suspicion that she provided false information regarding a felony and spent a night in jail. She was subsequently released on condition that she appear for questioning when requested.

Haaretz quoted the woman’s attorney, Alaa Atamana, as saying that she believed that “tremendous pressure was exerted by officials, who eventually brought her to the police station and dismissed the complaint.”

Guidelines set by the State Attorney’s Office require police and prosecutors to determine whether a victim had come under outside pressure to withdraw a complaint before launching an investigation into alleged false allegations.