Five Israel Border Policemen investigated for violence
Despite police support for the five suspects, the Police Investigations Unit will continue to investigate five border policemen who stand accused of using unlawful force against an Arab worker
The investigation of five Israel Border Policemen continued on Tuesday for a number of hours following an incident which was captured on CCTV showing the group beating an Arab worker. Yedioth Ahronoth was informed that the Police Investigations Unit is sufficiently convinced that some of the policemen involved in the affair carried out a criminal act. The main charge leveled against the suspects included the use of unlawful force. They are soon expected to be investigated once again.
The investigators have at their disposal a mass of evidence corroborating the charges including testimony from three policemen nearby who were uninvolved in the incident. Moreover, they have the video which captured the entire skirmish, eye-witness testimony and posts which were written on social media by other eye-witnesses.
The incident took place last week when a worker from a supermarket, Maysam Abu Alqian, a 19-year-old bedouin from the southern village of Hura, was beaten by the policemen after he refused to produce his ID upon request of a policeman in civilian clothing. However, the police reject the charge, claiming that they were retaliating against Alqian who attacked them first.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the Police Investigations Unit, they said that “After checking the circumstances of the incident it was decided that a criminal investigation would be opened...Only at the end of the investigation will it be possible to arrive at a clear conclusion regarding the event.”
The attorney defending some of the police under investigation said: “They explained that the suspect refused to identify himself, resisted in an aggressive manner, attacked the policemen and resisted arrest.”
A protest took place on Tuesday night opposite the supermarket against police violence. Dozens of participants waved signs while shouting, “police violence begins in the government,” “a violent policeman needs to be locked up,” and “against every bully with a license we will fight for equality.”
Alqian’s father said on Tuesday: “My son is at home. He is still not allowed to come to Tel Aviv. They questioned him once and since then they haven’t spoken to him. He needs to physically and mentally recover. He is suffering from trauma but if he wants to come back to Tel Aviv no one will oppose that.”
Roi Yanovsky, Eli Senyor, and Meir Turgeman contributed to this story.
