AMMAN – An
Israeli court has acquitted a border police
officer who was charged with manslaughter of an
unarmed Palestinian man with autism in Jerusalem. Iyad Al-Hallaq was shot and killed by an Israeli police
officer in Jerusalem’s Old City in May 2020 while walking to the special-needs
school where he was a student.
اضافة اعلان
His death, which came at a time when outrage was filled in
the US over the killing of
George Floyd, immediately drew comparisons with
many Palestinian organizations around the world, including his family calling
to hold the officer accountable. “Justice for Iyad” became a movement popular on
social media and in protests where people took to the streets to voice their
disdain.
A delayed investigation
The Hallaq family protested against the ruling issued by
Israeli Judge Hannah Lomb, after long procrastination by the Israeli judicial
authorities who have been looking into the crime for nearly three years, Amad
reported.
The verdict, which acquitted the police officer on the
charge of “reckless killing,” granted the Israeli judiciary greater legal maneuverability
in murder cases.
Judge Lomb accepted the claims of the police officer, who
argued self-defense, and the court concluded that the officer has made a grave
mistake by mistaking the person in front of him as an armed infiltrator.
In her decision, Judge Lomb stated, "Iyad, a young man
with special needs, tragically lost his life in horrific circumstances.
However, the court must fulfill its duty, even if it is exceptionally
challenging." Meanwhile, Hallaq's parents demanded justice and highlighted
the bias of the Israeli judiciary in favor of Jews and the
occupying security forces.
A reckless killing
The
Israeli Attorney General's Office had filed an
indictment against the police officer who killed Hallaq on February 27, 2022,
at the Central Court in Jerusalem. The indictment accused the officer of
"recklessly" shooting Hallaq while he was on his way to his special
needs school in occupied Jerusalem.
According to the indictment, despite him lying injured on
the ground after the initial gunshot and not holding anything in his hand, the
accused fired shots at his upper body, needlessly endangering his life.
The police officer entered the courtroom under tight police
guard, with his face covered, and sat behind a curtain. The court imposed a
publication ban on the officer's identity, claiming that he was being tried for
a military operation.
Iyad’s father, Khairi Hallaq, expressed that his unarmed son
surrendered, went down to the ground, and acted defenselessly. Meanwhile, his
mother Rana surrounded by his belongings and a picture of him, said “They took
the life of a young man who never got to experience life.”
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