Suspect in the hit-and-run of teenager Amichai Atiya in Hadera released; judge: "It's clear who the guilty are, they tried to lynch him"

The Hadera Magistrate's Court released Mahmoud Samahat, the driver suspected of running over teenager Amichai Atiya in a Hadera mall parking lot on the night before Yom Kippur, to house arrest. Judge Ehud Kaplan ruled that the suspect did not intentionally run over the victim but fled from a mob that chased him and attempted to lynch him. The suspect will be released until October 1.

The Hadera Magistrate's Court today (Thursday) released to house arrest Mahmoud Samahat, a 21-year-old driver from Kfar Manda, suspected of running over teenager Amichai Atiya in a Hadera mall parking lot on the night before Yom Kippur. Judge Ehud Kaplan ruled that the suspect did not deny causing the death of the deceased but claimed he fled from a mob that chased him and wanted to lynch him. The judge determined that from the investigation materials, it is clear that the suspect did not intentionally run over the victim, and that at most it is a matter of negligence that is not at a high level, as he fled from people who tried to lynch him. The judge even stated that "the guilty parties in the tragic outcome are those people who chased after him, not him." Samahat's attorney, Yosef Shalbi, stated that his client came to unload vegetables and a mob of dozens of people wanted to lynch him and even shot at him. Samahat will be released until October 1.

Suspect in the hit-and-run of teenager Amichai Atiya in Hadera released; judge: "It's clear who the guilty are, they tried to lynch him"