An investigator from Israel’s Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency who carried out an interrogation that allegedly led to the death of a suspected Palestinian terrorist two months ago will not be brought up on criminal charges, the state prosecutor announced last week.
Instead, the investigator will face a disciplinary tribunal, said State Attorney Dorit Beinish.
Beinish noted that after reviewing an earlier inquiry into the incident conducted by the Justice Ministry’s division for investigation security officials, it could not be proven conclusively that the interrogator’s treatment of the detainee, Abdel Samed Harizat, led to his death.
Harizat was brought to a Jerusalem jail on April 22 for interrogation about his involvement in a Hamas cell in the West Bank town of Hebron.
Later that day, he was brought, unconscious, to Hadassah Hospital, where he died three days later.
The results of a court-ordered autopsy indicated that Harizat died as the result of a brain hemorrhage caused by violent shaking of his head.
The Justice Ministry investigation found that Harizat’s interrogators grabbed his shirt and shook him several times while questioning.
Forensic experts said this treatment could have caused his death. But they added that it could have come as the result of a cumulative effect from earlier shakings.
They noted that even though being shaken by the shoulders can cause death, it is an extremely rare phenomenon.
Beinish said that because the investigator could not have foreseen that his actions would result in Harizat’s death, criminal charges could not be brought against him.
Events surrounding Harizat’s death have led the head of Shin Bet to call on investigators to review standing orders regarding proper interrogation procedures for security prisoners.
The incident also led a ministerial committee overseeing interrogations to review its recent decision to ease restrictions on interrogation methods for questioning suspected Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.
The decision to ease restrictions was made several months ago by the committee, which is headed by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, as part of the battle against terror.
The decision allowed interrogators to use “moderate physical force” during interrogation for a limited period of time.
But Justice Minister David Libai, who also sits on the committee, said that interrogation procedures should be reviewed because of Harizat’s death.
But one observer noted it would be unlikely Rabin would agree to any significant changes in interrogation methods that might impede the ability of the Shin Bet to fight terror.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
