"No reasonable suspicion": Court releases suspect and criticizes police

The Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court released without conditions a suspect involved in a break-in at a Negev farm, ruling there was no reasonable suspicion against him. The judge harshly criticized the police for failing to investigate the shooter who fired at the suspect's vehicle and for not seizing the weapon. The judge determined that the shooters were not identified as police or soldiers, and that the suspect's claim of fearing for his life was not unfounded.

The Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court released without conditions a suspect involved in a break-in at a Negev farm, ruling there was no reasonable suspicion against him. The incident began when the farm owner received an alert about an illegal entry and, accompanied by another person, pursued a figure spotted on the property. During the chase, they noticed a parked vehicle in an unusual location, called for the driver to stop, fired into the air, and then at the vehicle. Judge Golan harshly criticized the police's conduct, noting that nothing stolen from the farm was found in the vehicle, and that the complainants themselves stated the figure they were chasing had disappeared from sight. The judge questioned why the police did not investigate the shooter or seize the weapon for testing. Attorney Otan Assouline, representing the suspect, expressed anger at the police's handling and wondered whether the treatment would have been different had the suspect been Jewish rather than Bedouin. The judge ruled that the suspect's version, that he feared for his life and therefore did not stop, was not unfounded.