Subscribe to Print Edition | Mon., February 12, 2007 Shvat 24, 5767 | | Israel Time: 08:25 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
Search site 
  Back to Homepage
Print Edition
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National Arts & Leisure Anglo File Sports Travel  
Magazine Week's End
Q&A
Business Underground Jewish World Real Estate Advertising  
Bookmark to del.icio.us
Last update - 21:55 11/02/2007
Parinyan brothers avoid murder charges in plea bargain deal
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent

The prosecution on Sunday reached a plea bargain with the Parinyan brothers, who are suspected of murdering Pinchas Buhbut, according to which brothers won?t face murder charges.

The brothers have been accused of of asking two people - Shimon Almakayis and police officer Tzahi Ben Or - to murder Pinchas Buhbut, a known criminal.

The Zeiler Committee has been discussing the case and will present its final findings this week.

Advertisement

According to the plea bargain, the murder charge will be dropped from the indictment, and Sharon and Oded Parinyan will only be charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. The prosecution and defense will issue a joint plea for a five-year jail term, from which the period of their remand will be subtracted.

The pair will also pay compensation to Buhbut's widow, although the exact sum has not been agreed.

The prosecution signed an additional plea bargain on Sunday with Almakayis, who has been accused of being with Ben Or while he murdered Buhbut. Almakayis had also been charged with murder, but according to the plea bargain, he will be charged of being an accomplice to murder, and both parties will request a 10-year jail term.

Buhbut was murdered in 1999 at the Tel Hashomer Medical Center, while he was recovering from an earlier assassination attempt outside his Ashkelon home. Police suspect Ben Or murdered Buhbut on orders from the Parinyan brothers. The brothers are also suspected of sending agents to to murder Ben Or in Mexico.

The two brothers were captured by police at the end of 2005 and charged with murder. The prosecution said at the time it had enough evidence for a conviction, including taped conversations between Almakayis and Ben Or. Nonetheless, growing concerns within the prosecution that it will not be able to supply proof of murder in court led the prosecution to negotiate a plea bargain with the brothers' attorneys.

Defense attorneys Moshe Sherman and David Yiftach said yesterday "Under these circumstance, we have convinced the prosecution that the evidence is insufficient for a murder conviction and there is also a chance the defendants will be acquitted."

Tel Aviv District Court yesterday demanded clarifications in the plea bargain made with the suspects in Ben Or's murder.

Eran Haya and Gadi Hazan were charged four months ago with killing Ben Or in his Mexico apartment, again under orders from the Parinyans, as well as attacking Ben Or's girlfriend Giovanna Darley. However, the state ran into difficulty proving murder, and the deal signed last week only included aggravated bodily injury to Darley.

The deal included an eight-year sentence for Haya and a four-year sentence for Hazan. The court asked for information about the defendants presence in the room at the time of Ben Or's murder and the time elapsed between the murder and the attack on Darley.

Bookmark to del.icio.us
School competition
The main demand in the treasury's reform plan for schools is more competition.
Special needs children
Study indicates 13 percent of Israeli children suffer from disabilitiy or chronic illness.
  1.   Generalisations 23:49  |  Anon. 11/02/07
 Today Online
Gideon Levy: Two murdered girls, 1 Israeli, 1 Palestinian
Responses: 264
Shragai: Great Muslim denial of Jewish ties to Temple Mount
Responses: 159
Bar-Ilan to order prof. to explain research behind blood libel claims
Responses: 252
Editorial: The Mecca pact - Hamas has come a long way
Responses: 148
Olmert: New PA cabinet must abide by Quartet demands
Responses: 185
Rosner's Domain
* We've agreed to talk, but that's all
* New Guest: Yeshiva U head Richard Joel
* Blog and Poll: Is financial aid to Israel in America's best interest?
* What can one do with so many new Jews?


More Headlines
08:05 J'lem Mayor postpones Temple Mt. construction
03:01 Arrow missile defense system passes its first nighttime launch
04:44 Author of blood libel book: I will not give up my devotion to truth
05:21 Founder of Islamic Movement in Israel slams Holocaust denial
02:05 Gaydamak: 'Forged' document real, police trying to defame me
05:43 Knesset caucus for secular Judaism to be launched Tuesday
05:47 Olmert rejects proposal to exclude converts from Law of Return
03:57 Gov't welfare agencies assisted 16 percent of Israelis in 2006
06:36 Richard Pearlstone named new chair of Jewish Agency board
05:41 Putin meets Saudi King Abdullah on Iraq, Mideast conflict
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Skin Care Products
Shop high-class skin care cosmetics with Dead Sea minerals. Coupon code "haaretz" for 10% off.
A Different Israel Experience
Unique programs for adults of all ages
JOIN FREE AT JDATE.COM
The most popular online Jewish dating community in the world! Explore the possibilities! Click Here!
CAMP KIMAMA ISRAEL
Israel's international summer camps!
Learn Hebrew Online
Learn Hebrew from the best teachers in Israel live over the Internet
Home| Print Edition| Diplomacy| Opinion| Arts & Leisure| Sports| Jewish World| Underground| Site rules|
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved