Israel court orders harsher charges to be filed against soldiers

Jerusalem - Israel's High Court ordered the military judge advocate general Wednesday to refile charges against a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant accused of shooting a bound Palestinian last July. The court ruled that the original indictment filed by the judge advocate general was not harsh enough, and instructed that it be changed from 'improper conduct' to something more fitting the offence. Accepting a petition filed by the victim and by four human rights organizations, the court said the original indictment was 'unreasonable to an extreme degree.' Harming an arrested person whose arms were bound, who was blindfolded and helpless, was a cruel and harsh felony, necessitating a fitting penal response, Justice Ayala Procaccia wrote. The four Israeli human rights organizations - B'Tselem, The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, The Public Committee Against Torture and Yesh Din - welcomed the High Court's decision. In a joint statement issued after the ruling, however, the organizations also voiced concern that the High Court's intervention was necessary for the army to take proper action against the offenders. 'The many reports regarding violence by security forces in the Occupied Territories, accompanied by feeble responses of the military law-enforcement agencies, raise doubt as to the ability and commitment of the army's command level to comply with essential moral and legal norms,' the statement said. The original incident took place on July 7, 2008 during a protest against the security barrier Israel is building along the West bank. Ashraf Abu Rahma was arrested during the demonstration. His hands were bound, he was blindfolded and taken to a jeep by a battalion commander and a sergeant. While the battalion commander held Aby Rahma, the sergeant fired a rubber-coated metal bullet at the prisoner, hitting him in the toe. The sergeant said afterward that the battalion commander had ordered him to fire. The battalion commander said he had only meant to frighten the prisoner and had given no order to shoot. The shooting came to public knowledge after B'Tselem distributed a video clip of the incident, taken by a Palestinian. Once the video was shown on television, the judge advocate general, Brigadier Avihai Mandelblitt, ordered the military police to investigate the matter.