Xinhua (Analysis)
November 5, 2012 - 1:00am
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/05/c_131952454.htm


An Israeli military court released Monday a 16-year old Palestinian who had been wrongly accused for raping a Jewish girl after spending six months in prison.

The 16-year-old was released after a stormy court session in which the military judge accused the police of not doing basic investigative work to solve the case.

According to Ha'aretz daily, the incident occurred on March 13. A resident of one of the Jewish settlements near Hebron was violently beaten and raped by two unknown perpetrators.

The suspect and his friend, who were near the scene, were arrested for having "met the description" of the attackers, according to the police.

However, when the case reached military court, after the suspect was locked up for 171 days, the judge scolded the police for not doing basic investigation to verify the suspect's accountability for the attack.

His DNA apparently did not match the one at the scene. The police did not trace the attackers through victim's stolen cell phone and did not do any further investigation work.

Following the steps in court, the truth was cleared. The police tracked down the victim's phone, which lead them to two Palestinian brothers, one of which had matched DNA with the one taken at the scene.

The spokesperson for the Israeli police told Xinhua that the Shai District police has done "way and beyond" and used all the investigate techniques available to comprehend the assailants.




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