Two IDF soldiers charged with abusing Palestinian in their custody

Channel 2 reports soldier with cell phone photographed beating; prisoner captured after infiltrating from Gaza.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Soldiers guard prisoners 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Soldiers guard prisoners 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Two IDF soldiers have been charged in a military court with beating up a blindfolded and bound Palestinian detainee, the army said on Sunday.
The Palestinian had been captured by the IDF in May of 2012 after infiltrating from the Gaza Strip into Israel, according to the indictment. After being captured, the prisoner was taken to the IDF base Yiftah near the Gaza border where he was placed in a room by himself under guard of the two accused and two other IDF soldiers.
The indictment charges that at this point the two suspects began to hit the Palestinian who was "bound and blindfolded," according to a statement from the IDF.
One of the soldiers began to film the assault with his cellular phone. The assault took place "Without any justification and with no way for the Palestinian to defend himself," the indictment stated.
During the assault one of the soldiers who was hitting the Palestinian was called to keep guard so no other soldiers would enter the room.
According to the indictment one of the soldiers present told the accused to stop after which the victim was hit in the head three more times.
Two of the four soldiers present were not indicted and have since been discharged from the IDF. It is expected that a hearing will take place before they are indicted, according to the report.
Benny Kuznitz, who is the lawyer representing one of the soldiers, told Channel 2 that it would have been preferable for the army to exhaust their investigation into the matter before charging his client.
"My client maintains that he was not present and he was not connected in any way to the the incident described in the indictment," Kuznitz said.