The confession recently made by Abdul Mejid, arab convict, that he shot and killed Dr. Chaim Arlosorff, and his subsequent recantation which the defense alleges was extracted under police influence were the subiects of yesterday’s session of the hearing in the case of the three Revisionists accused of the murder. Prosecutor Shitrit was on the Witness stand all day. He was examined by Horces Samuel, defense counsel, in the morning and cross examined by Alfred Riggs for the prosecution in the afternoon.
Attorney Samuel complanined that Abdul Mejid’s clothing and his flashlight had not been confeseated by the police so that they might be compared with the clothing of the defendants.
Prosecutor shitrit submitted a second confession made by Abdul Mejid on January 16, in which the prosecutor declared he had found a number of contradictions in the statements made by Mrs. Sima Arlosoroff, widow of the murdered man. He state that he had therefore closely re-examined Abdul Mejid in the light of statments made by a fellow convict, Zubhi Zablawi, declaring htat the latter had lied.
After his recantaion the prosecutor interrogated Abdul Mejid once more on February, 1, when Abdul Mejid declared that Abraham Stavsky and Zvi Rosenblatt, two of the defendants, had approached him in the Jaffa jail and offered him £1,000 ($5,000) for an admission that he killed the Zionist labor leader. He said they showed him a map of hte Tel Aviv seashore and explained the details of the killing to him, assuring him that he would receive a light sentence. The defendants, according to Abdul Mejid’s story,. also of fered £500 to Zablawi for participating in the affair, telling Abdul Mejed to coach him.
Zvi Rosen, clerk in the criminal investigation department, testified that he had translated Abdul Mejid’s first confression.
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.
