Jailed prisoner (stock image)
Jailed prisoner (stock image)Flash 90

The Nazareth District Court convicted a young resident of Nazareth, George Hisham Ghraib, of manslaughter and fleeing the scene of the crime, but acquitted him of the charges of recklessness and negligence and driving a car without insurance.

The indictment states that on the evening of February 28, 2016, police officer Natan Nikolai Yussefov and city supervisor Muhammad Azzam carried out an activity to examine vehicle licenses on a Nazareth street. At that time Ghraib was driving a car belonging to his father's wife.

At approximately 19:00, Ghraib turned onto the street where Yussefov and Azzam were operating. The policeman signaled Ghraib to stop.

Ghraib was afraid of being found to be driving without a license and accelerated, striking Yussefov. Ghraib then fled the scene. According to the prosecution, he zigzagged between traffic lanes and endangered other vehicles on the road. Ghraib turned himself into the police an hour and a half after the incident.

Yussefov was severely injured and rushed to the 'English Hospital' in Nazareth with a head injury. In light of his condition, he was then sent to Rambam hospital. Several months later, he died from his injuries.

In his verdict, Judge George Azoulay ruled, "I believe that the evidence presented by the prosecution is sufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt the accused's guilt for the offenses of murder and abandonment. In view of the totality of evidence in the case, the defendant's version, which is not only inconsistent with the evidence that was brought before me, it is not compatible with common sense, and life experience."

"I was convinced that the prosecutors' version should be fully trusted, and I was impressed with them, and I did not find them doubting their credibility," the judge added.

"In light of the above, I was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed an offense of manslaughter under section 298 of the Penal Law and an offense of abandonment after an injury under section 64A (c) of the Traffic Ordinance."