Police arrest Haifa couple for torture and robbery

By YIGAL GRAYEFF
Police in Haifa arrested a couple in their forties on Wednesday for tying up and torturing a neighbor and then leaving him for dead. The couple befriended the 52-year-old Russian speaker and during a visit to his home; they then tied him up with electricity wire and burned newspaper clippings on his body until he gave them the key to his safe. They stole hundreds of shekels and his mobile telephone and then disappeared. The victim remained tied up for several days until he was able to free himself, after which he asked a neighbor to call Magen David Adom to take him to hospital. The incident took place a month ago, but the victim only agreed to talk to the police after his release from hospital last week.