The military prosecution intends to ask Tuesday evening to extend once again the detention for the purpose of interrogating Aviad Freija, the fighter who shot Yuval Doron Castleman z"l at the scene of the attack in Jerusalem last week, who was interrogated under caution on suspicion of reckless manslaughter.
The decision was made after the District Military Court partially granted the prosecution's request to extend his detention until tomorrow, and therefore his detention was extended until the evening at 20:00 P.M.
Extension of Aviad Freija's detention, yesterday // Photo: Shmuel Buchris
The IDF first announced that Frija would not be interrogated by the military police, and then retracted his decision. In the deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem last week, in which three people were murdered, Castleman neutralized one of the terrorists, was shot by Frija and critically wounded. A few hours later, he was pronounced dead.
In the judge's decision at the hearing held to extend his detention, after the threat posed by the terrorists had already been removed, "the suspect (referring to Frija, L.S.) mistakenly identified the deceased as an accomplice to the terrorists and even fired at him, this time unjustified shooting, which unfortunately ultimately led to his death."
The decision added that the investigation investigator "clearly indicates that the deceased, after bravely striving to harm terrorists at real risk to himself, did everything in his power to make it clear to everyone around him that he was not involved in the attack. He ran away from the scene, raised and waved his hands in the air, threw down the gun he was holding, tried to lift his shirt to prove he was not carrying a bomb, tried to show ID and at one point got down on his knees. The suspect made an honest mistake because he was a terrorist who took part in the attack, and that if he had thought it was a civilian he would not have shot at him. It is also possible that this was a reasonable mistake."
Aviad Freija during the extension of his detention, yesterday, photo: Shmuel Buchris
According to the suspicion, according to the decision, "and even if the deceased (referring to Castleman, L.S.) was a terrorist, the suspect fired unlawfully, not out of operational necessity – but out of frivolity regarding the possibility of death of someone who no longer poses any danger."
"The defense argued that the suspect's shredder shows that just as the suspect made an honest mistake regarding the deceased's affiliation, so too he made an honest mistake regarding the danger posed by him," the decision reads. "This is based both on the nature of the incident in which decisions are made very quickly and under conditions of uncertainty, and on the fact that alongside waving his hands, the deceased carried out additional actions that raised concerns that the fear presented to him had not yet been removed."
The resolution also states that after Castleman was shot, "he began actions designed to make it clear that he posed no danger, including when he raised his hands and waved them. The shooting by the suspect decreased and resumed at a later stage, raising questions about the justification for the shooting. It appears that the suspect's actions at this point in time do indeed establish a reasonable suspicion that an unlawful shooting was committed, and the strength of this suspicion can be examined after the completion of additional investigative actions."
Yuval Doron Castleman's father: "Netanyahu spoke without knowing and hurt my son's memory" // Photo: Michel Dot Com
The fact that Frija did not approach Castleman or shoot at him again, even though it was clear that he was still alive, seems to support the suspect's version that he sought to neutralize the danger posed by Castleman, and did not ask to verify the killing, even though the danger had already been removed.
"At the same time, there are also question marks regarding the strength of the evidence, and in particular it is doubtful whether it will be possible to prove that had it not been for shooting by the suspect at the relevant point in time, the death could have been prevented," it said.
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