Video: Gun and cocaine seized in prosthesis and wheelchair of amputee (Israel Police Spokesperson's Office)
The Acre Magistrate's Court today (Sunday) filed an indictment for possession of weapons without permission and possession of drugs not for personal consumption, against Salah al-Din Ghanaim, 35, from Sakhnin. According to the indictment filed by the police prosecution department, a Glock pistol was found in the back pocket of the defendant's wheelchair two weeks ago in a raid on his home and a cocaine drug weighing 19.84 grams was found inside his prosthesis.
The defendant suffers from a disability and his leg was amputated following his gunshot wound. During the hearings on the police's request to extend his detention, a legal issue arose; Given his health, disability and need for help, can he be kept in detention or should he be placed under house arrest?
The defendant's wheelchair (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Office)
At a hearing held at the Acre Magistrate's Court, on the police's request to extend his detention, his defense attorney, Walid Ghanem, argued that the suspect's leg amputation was fresh, from only a few months ago, and therefore he still needed someone close to him to help him. The suspect testified at the hearing that due to his disability he fell into custody and was injured, and that he needed the help of other detainees to take a shower, a situation that was unpleasant for him. He also claimed that he was forced to crawl out of the detention cell on his own after setting fire to a mattress in the cell.
Defense counsel also tried to downplay the seriousness of the offenses. He said the gun was without a magazine and was only meant to give him confidence. As for the drugs, he claimed that they were intended for personal consumption. On the other hand, the police representative wanted to show that the suspect is dangerous and cannot be released to house arrest. According to him, this is a man with a criminal record who has adopted a criminal lifestyle and that his medical condition was caused by that lifestyle. He said the suspect's conflict with other people and the weapon he was in possession only illustrated the same dangerousness. The judge's decision was that the suspect would be released to house arrest in his city of residence, despite the severity of the offenses attributed to him, in light of his health condition and because no therapeutic prison was found for him.
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The gun found in the raid (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Office)
The police quickly appealed the decision, and the Haifa District Court accepted the appeal and ruled that despite the detainee's state of health, the public interest in this case overrides the suspect's personal interest. His detention has been extended to this day. With the filing of the indictment, the police requested today that his detention be extended until the legal proceedings against him.
A police source told Walla, "The officers work tirelessly to apprehend the perpetrators, prevent and thwart violent incidents. In many cases, we receive a limited number of days of detention and even in some cases release decisions are made, forcing us to turn to higher courts in order to allow the investigation to be completed. In this case, we succeeded in persuading the District Court to indict the suspect while he is behind bars. It is important to understand that any weapon held without a license has one goal - to kill innocent people. Every weapon seized today prevents tomorrow's murder."
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- cocaine
- drugs
- weaponry
- Sakhnin
- Indictment