Four indicted in fatal beating of Eritrean bystander during Beersheba terror attack

The four indicted men include an IDF soldier and a prison guard.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Updated: JANUARY 13, 2016 07:04
Security camera footage of Beersheba terror attack
The Southern District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday filed an indictment against four men, including a soldier and prison guard, for beating an innocent Eritrean man who eventually died after a terrorist attack at the Beersheba Central Bus Station in October.
IDF soldier Yaakov Shimba, prison guard Ronen Cohen, David Muial and Evyatar Dimri were all charged with causing grave bodily harm to Haptom Zarhum, 29, who was mistaken for a terrorist and died of gunshot wounds from several security guards, according to an autopsy report. He also was captured on camera being brutally beaten by a mob that included the four defendants. Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and head State Attorney Shai Nitzan personally approved the indictment.
Because Zarhum’s death was caused by the gunshot wounds, and not the beating, the charges were for striking him and not murder. A fifth suspect, another prison guard, was cleared of criminal charges, but recommended for disciplinary charges.
Four people, including Zarhum, were killed and another 10 wounded in the October 18 terrorist attack by Muhand al-Uqbi, an Israeli Beduin from Hura.
“We know the public is living under a great deal of pressure right now, but there are clear lines and we will not allow people to harm minorities [Arabs] or suspects,” then acting police commissioner Asst.-Ch. Bentzi Sau had said about the incident in which Zarhum, who was first mistakenly shot by security guards and then set upon by bystanders, who kicked him and dropped a metal bench on his head after he was incapacitated and lying on the floor.
According to the indictment, Muial and Cohen both harmed Zarhum by placing a stool on him, while Shimba and Dimri harmed him by kicking him in the head and the upper body.
All of this occurred at a point when it was clear that Zarhum was no threat and badly wounded bleeding out on the floor, the indictment stated.
When it was announced in November that the five suspects were under investigation, there was no announcement about prosecuting Zarhum’s shooter, but a Justice Ministry spokeswoman confirmed that he would not be prosecuted because an investigation had shown that his mistaken shooting of Zarhum was justified under the circumstances and was not based on extraneous considerations, such as his Eritrean ethnicity.
The Justice Ministry also indicated that security officials and civilians had tried to stop the five suspects from attacking Zarhum after he was lying wounded on the floor, but the five had persisted.
The Defense Ministry and National Insurance Institute have determined that Zarhum’s family is eligible to receive the benefits granted to relatives of terrorist victims, even though the law holds that only Israeli residents, citizens or others who entered the country legally are eligible for such benefits.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.


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