The decision issued today by the Jerusalem District Court acquitting the Border Police officer who killed martyr Iyad Hallaq is a shameful stain on the Israeli judiciary. It lacks the most basic legal and judicial standards and blatantly disregards the evidence, testimonies, and witnesses presented in the case, which supported the family’s account and the truth of what happened—the execution of martyr Iyad Hallaq.

The court’s justifications for acquitting the killer contain significant legal errors. It accepted the defendant’s claim of a “false” self-defense scenario, in which the officer allegedly felt threatened when he shot the martyr Hallaq.

Through our follow-up on all the sessions of this case, which lasted three years, we are astounded that the court chose to acquit the accused killer despite having access to evidence that irrefutably proved the commission of a much more severe crime than the charge of “reckless manslaughter” initially brought against the defendant by the Police Investigations Department (Mahash).

We see the danger of this decision in that it grants a green light and legitimizes further killings under false pretenses, leading to more violations of human rights, the most important of which is the right to life.

This decision is further proof that the Israeli judicial system is influenced by the reality of events in Israeli society, especially politically. It strengthens and confirms international and local reports indicating that the three Israeli authorities are reinforcing an apartheid system.

This decision reveals that the trial was a mere formality and not a fair, professional, and neutral trial. It was never intended to achieve justice or uncover the truth.

In light of this, the Mizan Human Rights Center and the legal team representing the family stress the necessity for the Police Investigations Department (Mahash), which is handling the case, to appeal to the Supreme Court in order to pursue the criminal police officer who killed Iyad Hallaq, a man with special needs, with multiple bullets that mutilated his body.

Mizan Center for Human Rights – Nazareth
The Legal Team Representing the Family
Thursday, July 6, 2023