The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court accepted a civil lawsuit filed by a Haredi young man against the Israel Police, following a false arrest and a negligently handled criminal case that ended in a full acquittal.
The plaintiff, represented by attorney Barak Kedem, a partner at the Arbus Kedem Tzur firm, will receive total compensation of approximately 414,000 shekels.
The case began in December 2013 during a protest in Jerusalem against the conscription of yeshiva students. The plaintiff, then about 18 years old and a recent immigrant from Australia, was arrested on suspicion of throwing a stone at security forces. In the arrest report and testimony, Officer D. claimed he identified the plaintiff committing the offense, maintained continuous visual contact, ran toward him, and subdued him with the help of another officer.
However, this version collapsed in light of a series of photos and a video presented by the young man’s lawyers. The footage clearly showed that the officer was standing at a significant distance from the plaintiff at the time of the arrest and was looking in a different direction, while the arrest was actually carried out by entirely different officers who were not mentioned in the report. Additionally, the officers’ claims of a “chase" and “violent resistance" did not align with the visual evidence.
The ruling determined that the officers were at least negligent in completing the arrest reports and providing statements that did not reflect the facts as they occurred. The judge emphasized that such reports are a crucial basis for the prosecution’s decision to file an indictment, and therefore, the serious discrepancies cannot be overlooked.
“The inevitable conclusion is, at the very least, negligence on the part of the officers… the content of the arrest report did not reflect the actual sequence of events."
The prolonged criminal proceedings and the arrest left the young man with deep psychological effects. A court-appointed expert determined that he suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder, resulting in a permanent disability of 10%. The court awarded compensation for non-material damages (pain and suffering), as well as for loss of earnings and medical expenses.
In total, the police were ordered to pay 328,605 shekels, in addition to 23.4% in attorney’s fees (approximately 77,000 shekels) and reimbursement for expert and court costs.
Attorney Barak Kedem stated in response: “The over-enforcement by the police against Haredi protests compared to other demonstrations was clearly evident in this unfortunate case. I am pleased that the court recognized the severity of the officers’ actions and awarded the victim appropriate compensation."