Karmiel policemen delay plea in beating of US oleh teen

One officer is charged with beating the youth at a Karmiel police station while two colleagues are accused of lying about the affair.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Three police officers from Karmiel appeared before the Haifa Magistrate’s Court on Monday to file a plea in the beating a teenage immigrant from the US, but asked for a delay, which was granted.
In August, one officer was charged of beating “S.” at a Karmiel police station last November 18, while two colleagues have charged with lying about the affair and obstructing justice during a Police Investigations Department probe into the matter.
RELATED:Aharonovitch meets ‘vigilante cops’ ahead of imprisonment‘Right racist militia operating in Karmiel’
The incident allegedly occurred when the teen was taken to the station after being arrested on suspicion of carrying a small amount of hashish, a charge since dropped by state prosecutors.
S. was later subject to gang rape while being held at the Kishon prison near Haifa.
The court will reconvene by December 1 following a request by the officers’ attorney for additional time to choose how to plead.
“I’m here to make sure justice is done,” Lior, the teenager’s stepfather, told The Jerusalem Post after the court hearing. “I’m going to face these guys.”
Lior added that he was glad that legal proceedings had begun, though he noted that almost a year had passed since the incident.
“The wheels of justice are turning slowly, but at least they are turning surely,” he added.
A separate trial of three youths charged with abusing S. in prison is due to end in the coming weeks. The family made aliya from Miami about four years ago.