Jerusalem, 7 June 1995
REPORT ISSUED ON CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING DEATH OF DETAINEE
(Communicated by Justice Ministry Spokeswoman)
The State Attorney accepted the recommendation of the State Attorney's
Department for the Investigation of Police Officers, according to which
criminal responsibility for the death of Abd al-Samad Harizat cannot be
attributed to the GSS investigator. At the same time, it was recommended
that the GSS interrogator be prosecuted before a disciplinary tribunal. In
addition, the State Attorney recommended that a further review be
conducted concerning a number of issues which require conclusions to be
reached and additional disciplinary and organizational measures to be
taken. These decisions were made with the knowledge of the
Attorney-General.
As will be recalled, on April 22, 1995, the detainee was taken, in a state
of unconsciousness, from the detention facility at the Russian Compound in
Jerusalem to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem. Harizat had been taken to
hospital after his condition deteriorated, while being questioned by the
GSS.
That same evening, the Department for the Investigation of Police Officers
began its inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his being taken to
hospital.
On April 25, 1995, Harizat died and, that same day, the Department for
Investigations of Police Officers approached the Jerusalem Magistrates'
Court to request that an autopsy be ordered. On April 26, 1995, the
Jerusalem Magistrates' Court ordered that an autopsy be conducted.
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The findings of the autopsy indicated that his death was caused by a
simple edema and bleeding in the head, caused as a result of a rapid
twisting of the head, without any direct and/or indirect blows to the
head.
The investigation conducted by the Department for the Investigation of
Police Officers concluded that the deceased, who had been arrested during
the early morning hours of the day, had been questioned in connection with
the activities of an Iz a-Din al-Kassam squad in Hebron, and regarding his
ties to leaders of the squad who were linked with numerous acts of murder.
During the course of the questioning, the investigating officers held and
shook him by his clothes; this was repeated a number of times until the
afternoon.
The Department for the Investigation of Police Officers has evidence
according to which, in the early afternoon, the deceased was apparently
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officer not in the
manner previously described, but while being held by his shoulders. Soon
after, he began to lose consciousness and his questioning was halted.
Medical opinions rendered by the Director of the Institute for Forensic
Medicine have suggested that the backward and forward shaking of the
shoulders can cause angular acceleration of the head and severe brain
damage, with a rapid loss of consciousness. It was also noted that the
severe damage caused by the angular acceleration of the head is rare in
medical experience and is generally recognized only by physicians and
scientists dealing with brain diseases and damage, and with forensic
medicine.
The opinion even found that it is reasonable to assume that the fatal
damage to the brain was caused by shaking the deceased by the shoulders
and/or by the clothing covering his shoulders, although one cannot rule
out the possibility that the brain damage to the deceased was compounded
and caused, at least partially, during the course of the transition
from shaking the deceased by his clothing to his being shaken by his
shoulders.
From=20this, the Department for the Investigation of Police Officers has
determined the cause of death, with relative certainty, and is also aware
of the identity of the investigator who shook the deceased.
The sum of the evidence in the possession of the Department for the
Investigation of Police Officers, including the opinion of the Institute
for Forensic Medicine, has indicated that the investigator who shook
the deceased while grasping his shoulders could not have, and need not
have, anticipated the fatal consequences of his actions or the
irreversible brain damage, given the rare incidence of death from these
actions, to the point that it is known only to physicians and scientists
specializing in brain diseases and damage. This comes in addition to the
difficulty in obtaining proof, to the degree of certainty required in
criminal cases, with regard to the causal link between the actions of this
investigator and the death of the deceased.
The State Attorney informed the High Court of Justice, this evening
(Wednesday), June 7, 1995, that, with the presentation of the report to
the investigating judge in the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court, the matter of
the appeal against the decision of the investigating judge has been set
aside.