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High Court issues injunction halting Na'alin shooting trial By Yuval Azoulay The High Court of Justice issued a show-cause order and an interim injunction yesterday in response to a petition by four human rights groups demanding tougher charges against two soldiers involved in shooting a bound Palestinian at Na'alin a month ago. Lt. Col. Omri Burberg, who was commander of Battalion 71, is accused of holding the bound Palestinian, Ashraf Abu Rahman, while a soldier under his command fired a rubber-coated bullet at the prisoner at close range, wounding him slightly. Burberg and the soldier, L., were charged with conduct unbecoming, and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi transferred Burberg to the armored corps training grounds at Tze'elim. Advertisement In response to the petition, Justice Ayala Procaccia issued a show-cause order giving the military advocate general, Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit, three weeks to submit a detailed justification of his decision not to press more serious charges. She also issued an interim injunction delaying proceedings against the defendants until the court makes a final ruling. The petition asked the court to order Mendelblit to alter the charges against the officer and soldier "in a manner reflecting the severity of an offense that includes threats at gunpoint and the shooting of a bound prisoner - acts that would seem to constitute aggravated abuse of a prisoner, an offense punishable by seven years' imprisonment." The four petitioners - Yesh Din, B'Tselem, The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel - argued that "the choice of such a minor charge [conduct unbecoming] reflects a weak response by the military prosecution." Moreover, they said, the message this sends to officers and soldiers is one of "disregard for human life, [which] prepares the ground for future incidents. It is hard to ignore the feeling that this is a systemic failure, not only among IDF officers, but also among those responsible for military justice." The petition charged that Mendelblit's decision was also "extremely unreasonable" in light of "suspicions of further cases of abuse while Lt. Col. Burberg was the commander in the area of Na'alin." Finally, it expressed outrage over statements made by Ashkenazi regarding the likelihood that the officer would eventually resume the post from which he had been removed as a result of the incident. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Tears of joy Shahar Zubari's bronze medal was Israel's first of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 'Germ of corruption' Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeats his prediction that Israel will be wiped off the map.

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