Police accused of branding
A police spokesperson responded to the allegations by saying the officers used “reasonable force” to detain the suspect and that the bruise was likely caused by “an article of clothing of one of the officers.”
A JERUSALEM Magistrate Court’s judge ordered the release to house arrest of a Palestinian suspect who received bruises similar in shape to a Star of David on his face last week.
Judge Adi Bar Tal on Sunday ordered the measure, which is unusual for a suspected drug dealer who police say had resisted arrest, following an outcry over the handling of the suspect, 22-year-old Arwah Sheikh Ali from the Shuafat area in East Jerusalem.
The uproar followed a picture that emerged of bruises that looked like part of a Star of David on his left cheek. His lawyer, who said his client denies all charges, said that police tortured the 22-year-old and branded his face.
Police said the bruises came from arresting officers’ items of clothing, and suggested it happened when an officer pressed the laced-up part of their boot against the suspect’s face while they subdued him.
On Saturday, another judge referred the case to the Police Internal Investigations Department and said that police have “no reasonable explanation” for how the bruises appeared.
That judge, Amir Shaked, noted on Saturday that police have no explanation for why the bodycams were not working on all 16 officers who had allegedly participated in the arrest of the man.
Media reported on the case after images spread online showing triangular shapes, similar to a portion of a Star of David, under the suspect’s left eye.
A police spokesperson responded to the allegations by saying the officers used “reasonable force” to detain the suspect and that the bruise was likely caused by “an article of clothing of one of the officers.”
The suspect was restrained at his home while police were conducting a warranted search, where they say they encountered a commercial quantity of illegal substances, a spokesperson said.
Accompanying the police’s statement was a photo of the triangular patterns of laces on an officer’s boot, implying they caused the bruise when they were pressed against the suspect’s face.
The explanation did not satisfy thousands of Israelis, including prominent protest activists, who commented on it on social networks. Some participants in weekly protests against the government on Saturday were documented wearing a Star of David made of lipstick on their cheeks.
Josh Breiner, a reporter for Haaretz, wrote on X that the triangle on the face of the suspect seems to match the pattern of the shoelaces in the photos provided by police, but not a middle-section line in the scar on his face.
“One thing is clear: A serious, violent incident like this needs to be investigated swiftly,” he wrote.
TIMES OF ISRAEL
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