The Jerusalem District Court today accepted the appeal of the Police Investigations Department and convicted Corporal Moshe Ohion of the offense of assault which was attributed to him in the indictment.
According to the indictment, during operation Guardian of the Walls, a report was received of disturbances and gatherings in the Damascus Gate area of Jerusalem.
Ohion, who served as the commander of the police force that handled the incident, asked those present at the scene to disperse. At one point, Ohion ran in the direction of a man who was standing there taking pictures, and slapped him in the face. The Magistrate's Court ruled that although it was an "unnecessary and prohibited" act, amounting to an assault, it acquitted him due to 'defense of justice'.
The Department of Police Investigations, through attorneys Ronen Yitzhak and Merev Nagler, appealed the decision. The appeal claims, among other things, that this is a legal error and that the verdict may send the wrong message in relation to this sensitive issue of violence by police officers. The District Court adopted the position of the Department of Police Investigations and determined that the Magistrate's Court deviated significantly from the accepted and proper legal policy and that, taking into account the seriousness of the act and the rank of the respondent, it was necessary to convict him. The court accepted the appeal and convicted Ohion of the acts attributed to him.