4 Border Police officers arrested on hazing charges

The Justice Ministry’s unit for investigating police on Sunday night arrested four Border Police officers accused of being involved in abusing and severely assaulting two fellow patrolmen who had just finished their basic training, the ministry announced on Monday.

Three of the officers were put on house arrest Monday after they confessed to the charges, and a fourth officer, Yarden Sarur, appeared before a judge at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Monday afternoon, where prosecutors sought a remand extension arguing that he tried to obstruct the ministry’s investigation.

The court did not agree with the prosecution’s argument, and Sarur was also released to house arrest.

The ministry said that beginning last December, the two complainants were sent to join the Border Police detachment in the Maccabim area, and that when they arrived, the officers already stationed there began a “series of abusive acts which were part of a hazing process.”

These acts included punching and kicking them while they were handcuffed, and spraying them in the face with pepper spray.

The incident reached the ministry on Sunday night, after one of the officer’s parents heard what happened and contacted police, who turned the issue over to the investigative unit.

The ministry said that they believe the incident could very well be part of a wider phenomenon of hazing in the Border Police ranks.

Attorney Liran Zilberman, who represents Sarur, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that his client has denied all of the charges against him, which are “nonsense, and have been taken way out of proportion.”