The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court today (Tuesday) overturned the conviction of police detectives Shai Eliyahu and Yotam Gargir, who attacked the young Haredi Haim Mizrahi, near a demonstration by extremists in the Geula neighborhood in January two years ago.
The conviction was overturned as part of the arguments for the two men's sentence. Police officers in the Investigations Department opposed the overturning of the conviction.
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The court sentenced the two detectives to community service and a fine: Eliyahu will serve 120 hours of community service and pay Mizrahi 4,000 shekels in compensation. Gargir will serve 80 hours of community service and pay Mizrahi 3,000 shekels in compensation.
According to a report by Liran Tamari on the Ynet website, following the overturning of the conviction, senior officers in the Jerusalem District are calling for the two violent detectives to be reinstated to their duties - despite the serious incident.
Mizrahi said in response to Ynet: "It's a shame that they want to reinstate them, they should go home. I am very disappointed and hurt by the punishment. They deserved to receive a proper punishment, and it is not. 7,000 shekels in compensation after I am in mental health treatment? This is a joke. This incident accompanies me to this day, at all hours of the day and they continue with their lives as usual.".
In the sentence, Judge Sharon Larry-Bavli wrote: "I do not take their actions lightly. These are serious acts against a citizen who has done no wrong, and I had the impression that the complainant was hurt by the acts on an emotional level. Eliyahu and Gargir expressed sincere remorse for their actions and I had the impression that they were indeed very sorry. The consequences of their conviction will, in all likelihood, mean the termination of their employment with the police. I do not believe that this result is proportionate in the circumstances of the case.".
According to the report, Chief of Staff Shlomi Bachar, commander of the station where the two serve, arrived at the discussion. Despite the brutal attack on an innocent citizen, he said: "For any position I take in the future, I would be happy to take Yotam under my command. This is how the organization thinks of Yotam. Even if one incident or another happened, he should not be hanged in the city square.".
In another letter of support in a nutshell, Zion Region Commander Ronen Ovadia added: "I will recommend to the decision makers that he continue his service in the Israel Police, and even return him to his position as head of the detective team at the station.".
The serious assault occurred, according to the amended indictment in which the accused police officers admitted, when the complainant, Haim Mizrahi, left the store where he worked, located near the scene of a demonstration that was taking place at the time. An “undercover” vehicle driven by officer Shai Ezra passed by. Due to a traffic jam that had formed on the street, Ezra overtook the line of cars and hit another vehicle that was standing in the traffic jam. Mizrahi, who noticed this, approached Ezra and warned him about it.
In response, Ezra approached him and arrested him without identifying himself or stating the reason for the arrest – and began to act with severe violence towards him, including by pushing and hitting him.
Other police officers who noticed what was happening, including the defendant Gargir, approached the scene and helped Ezra put Mizrahi into the undercover car.
While Mizrahi was lying on his stomach in the back seat of the police car, Officer Gargir sat on him and used force against him unnecessarily, despite the fact that the complainant begged him to stop.
Journalist Moti Castel from Channel 14 commented on the decision: "An unbelievable scandal. 120 hours of supervised release for one police officer and only 80 hours for the other - were sentenced this morning to two detective police officers who attacked Haim Mizrahi with shocking violence near a demonstration in Geula two years ago for no wrongdoing, after he had warned them about damaging a vehicle. The two will pay ridiculous compensation. This is the "deterrent" message he conveyed in court this morning. Sodom!""
