Supreme Court Justice Ofer Grosskopf today rejected the State appeal against the District Court decision to release the minor accused of involvement in planning the murder in Duma.
The minor will remain in full house arrest and be subject to a long list of restrictive conditions, including a vast number of prohibited contacts and electronic tracking.
In the decision given by Judge Grosskopf it was stated "the decision in the pre-trial creates a real erosion in the strength of evidence regarding the charge relating to the Duma attack and the other serious charge: arson and desecration of Abbey of the Dormition."
The minor's attorney Tzion Amir stated: "Undoubtedly the Supreme Court's rejection of the State appeal was lawful and just. Although two-and-a-half years elapsed with a protracted and penetrating legal battle, two things are consoling: One is his release from detention; the other is the court determined the torture the minor underwent during his interrogations resulted in disqualifying confessions obtained by such improper means.
"I very much hope the State Prosecutor's Office will learn and internalize the position expressed in the decisions of the District Court and the Supreme Court, and will consider canceling proceedings or at least the decisive aspects against the minor," added Amir.
Attorney Adi Keidar of the Honenu legal aid organization attacked the State Attorney's Office appealing the District Court decision. "The State's appeal would have best not been presented at all; it symbolized persecution and continued torture against the minor, and mainly the prosecutor's lack of internalization and the failure to accept the decision of the pre-trial.
"The Supreme Court accepted our arguments as determined by the District Court, and determined the pre-trial decision creates a real erosion in the evidence's strength, especially regarding the grave charges. After disqualifying the evidence constituting the conclusion of the trial's first stage, it now opens the way to continue the trial with the minor released until his acquittal," Kedar added.