The military court trying five youths for participation in the Acre prison break on May 4 concluded its hearing today and a verdict is expeted to be issued tomorrow.
The three defendants who have been boycotting the proceedings–Meir Nakar, Jacob Weiss and Abshalom Habib–read long statements denouncing the court and demanding intervention by the U.N. inquiry committee to secure abolition of military tribunals. The other two prisoners, Amnon Mikhailoff and Nachman Zitterbaum, testified in their own defense.
They asserted that they had travelled to Safad in the bus carrying the attackers, but left the vehicle before the assault on the prison began. They were attacked later, they said, by a group of Arabs, and Zitterbaum suffered several wounds. Both testified that they were under 18 years of age, and the defense kept harping on their extreme youth.
Meanwhile, another military court today began trying Ephraim Michaeli, who is accused of distributing Irgun pamphlets in Jerusalem.
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