Last update - 00:00 24/12/2006
Supected rapist may be released over questionably obtained evidence
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
Suspected serial rapist Eitan Farhi may be released from custody because of a dispute over the legal status of the primary evidence in his trial.
Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Rivlin on Sunday instructed Tel Aviv District Court to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to keep Farhi in cutsody in addition to a DNA sample, the legality of which has been called into question.
Farhi is charged with the rape of a 20-year-old woman in Tel Aviv and a 16-year-old girl returning from a scout meeting in Rehovot, as well as and the molestation of several others between 2004 and 2006.
He was arrested after a DNA sample collected in relation to the slaying of lawyer Anat Fliner matched DNA found at both rape scenes. Farhi's lawyers Hedva Shapira and Amikam Hadar, however, claim the sample was unlawfully obtained.
Police asked hundreds of people with criminal records living near where Fliner was killed, including Farhi, to hand them a DNA sample as part of the police's efforts to solve the crime. Farhi was told the samples would be used only in connection to Fliner's murder and that any use of the sample in other cases is strictly prohibited by law. Despite the restrictions, Farhi's sample was put into the police DNA database and compared with samples taken from the scene of the rapes.
The prosecution claimed that public safety took precedence over the legality of collecting evidence. Tel Aviv District Court Judge Oded Modrik who presided over the hearing, rejected the plaintiff's claims the evidence should be disqualified, and said, "It is inconceivable that the police and authorities will stand helpless against a suspect, one against whom they have hard proof of his guilt, only because of a virtual infringement of his rights. "
In response, Farhi appealed to the Supreme Court to overturn Modrik's decision. After a brief hearing, Rivlin sent the case back to the Tel Aviv District Court to determine whether there was enough evidence other than the DNA sample to hold Farhi in custody. The prosecution does have cell phone records placing Farhi near the scene of the crime.