The State Attorney’s Office filed an indictment with the Beersheba District Court against 12 Israel Prison Service personnel, charging them with reckless homicide in the death of security prisoner Thaer Abu Asab and with assaulting eight additional prisoners at Ketziot Prison.
According to the indictment, in November 2023, Walid Khatib served as the shift commander in the compound where the prisoners were being held and was responsible for counting them, while the other defendants served as prison guards, members of the Keter Unit, and a dog handler. At the time, Thaer Abu Asab was being held as a security prisoner in Compound C, Wing 24, together with eight other prisoners.
According to the allegations, during the afternoon of November 18, 2023, Abu Asab asked the shift sergeant whether there was a “hudna," or truce, in the war, and his remarks were relayed to the shift commander. Before the evening prisoner count, the commander briefed the force and instructed that, in an unusual move, the guards would enter the cell during the count in order to show the prisoners that there was no ceasefire.
The indictment alleges that the shift commander told the force that he would take responsibility for whatever happened and even warned female guards who were present at the briefing not to enter the cell so that they would not be harmed. It further alleges that before entering the wing, he reiterated the main points of his instructions to the members of the force.
At approximately 7:08 p.m., the force arrived at the cell and the shift commander began counting the prisoners. According to the indictment, after beginning the count, he ordered the defendants to enter the cell, and some of the guards who were not members of the Keter Unit partially covered their faces.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants acted together with the intention of beating and injuring the prisoners, attacking them with punches and kicks, while some also used batons. The shift commander, according to the allegations, directed what was happening inside the cell and personally struck one or more prisoners.
After several minutes, the shift commander ordered the force to stop, and the defendants left the cell. According to the indictment, none of them reported the assault or any unusual incident during the prisoner count.
Shortly afterward, Abu Asab collapsed and lost consciousness. He was taken to the prison clinic without a pulse and not breathing, underwent resuscitation efforts, and was evacuated to Soroka Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 10:22 p.m.
According to the indictment, his death was caused by the blows he sustained, which resulted in severe injuries to his heart and respiratory system. The eight other prisoners, prosecutors allege, also suffered significant injuries.
In an additional charge, the shift commander and shift sergeant are accused of obstruction of an investigation. According to the allegations, after a police investigation was opened, the shift sergeant instructed one of the guards to lie during questioning and say that no batons had been used.
It is further alleged that after the shift commander was questioned by police, he asked another guard to convey a message to a female guard who had not yet been questioned, telling her that she should coordinate her account with those of the defendants. According to the indictment, the female guard initially gave a false account, but later admitted that she had lied and provided her version of the incident.
All 12 defendants are charged with reckless homicide, aggravated grievous bodily harm, and multiple counts of aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm. The shift commander and shift sergeant are additionally charged with obstruction of an investigation.