Or Akiva resident sentenced to 17 years for killing man during brawl - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Mon., September 10, 2007 Elul 27, 5767

Israel Time: 02:26 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Books

Travel

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Last update - 15:19 10/09/2007

Or Akiva resident sentenced to 17 years for killing man during brawl

By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent

The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday sentenced Yossi Hazan to 17 years in prison for killing Eli Abravaya during a fight that broke out at the "Flow" nightclub in Herzliya last year.

The brawl broke out during Abravaya's 28th birthday party, and was documented on film by the club's security cameras. The video of the incident shows 28-year-old Hazan from Or Akiva and his friends beating and kicking the victim outside the club long after he became motionless and stopped trying to defend himself.

After the fight, the perpetrators fled the scene.

	Advertisement

The prosecution decided ultimately to charge Hazan with manslaughter rather than murder out of fear they would not be able to prove his intent.

In his ruling, Judge Chaled Kabub wrote that the "incident before me is extreme not because of its tragic result, but because of the amount of cruelty and evil seen in the behavior of the defendant and his friends, who beat Abravaya without mercy or compassion."

"They kicked the victim again and again," the judge wrote, "while he lay helpless on the ground until his strength ran out, and even then, they didn't leave him alone."

The judge also took into account the dozens of frightened witnesses who were afraid to come forward and testify against Hazan. He wrote in the verdict that Hazan and his friends had threatened to harm those around them should they cooperate with the police.

Chabub also mentioned the fact that Abravaya had been an only child to a single mother, and wrote that he "could not remain indifferent to the silent tears of the mother who followed the hearings."

In the verdict, Chabub also called on the police to continue the investigation into the incident, and to arrest the other people involved in the violence.

"It is not logical that a person who committed such a crime will continue to walk free as if a man's life had not been taken in an appalling way."

Chabub wrote that the security video from the club only fortified the evidence against the defendant, and "emphasized in strong colors the evil, cruelty and wickedness."

After the sentencing, a commotion erupted in the courtroom. Hazan's parents accosted the judge screaming and yelling, while Abravaya's mother tried to pounce on Hazan's parents and beat them. The courthouse security guards dragged her forcibly outside the building.

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Tree lovers
	Many decades-old trees are jeopardized by development, but some are saved.


	Take the plunge
	Israel is finally getting over its aquaphobia as more adults take swimming lessons.




1.	if he were a pal,his release`d be imminent	15:53	\|	Absolute Sweden	10/09/07

2.	17 Years	17:16	\|	leon	10/09/07

3.	Death Penalty Needed	20:49	\|	Simon	10/09/07

4.	disgusting	21:23	\|	ralph	10/09/07

Today Online


	Avraham Burg: Muslims as the Jews of the 21st Century
	Responses: 226


	Syria: IAF planes dropped live ammunition in flyover
	Responses: 308


	Citing Holocaust, Shas ministers to boycott German cars
	Responses: 127


	Suspected Israeli neo-Nazis remanded; indictments expected
	Responses: 112


	Haaretz.com TV: Intermarriage: U.S. love affair with Jews?
	Responses: 73

Rosner's Domain

* Jewish renaissance? Rabbis are more skeptical

* WTR: Rahm Emanuel changes course: Israel great on Darfur

* Rosner's Guest: Author of Sex, God, Christmas & Jews

* Poll: Will the next year be better for Israel?

More Headlines
21:02 Damascus: IAF planes dropped live ammunition on Syria during flyover


00:42 Police chief: There are dozens of active neo-Nazis in Israel


00:28 Olmert tells Abbas he will back prisoner release ahead of Ramadan


00:02 Border Police officer sentenced to jail for ordering Hebron robberies


01:17 Officials: Haniyeh proposes he meet with Abbas in Mecca


21:30 State Prosecutor calls for two new criminal probes into PM


00:35 Police: Anti-Semitic insult preceded Frankfurt rabbi stabbing


21:05 2006 report: Israel's population 7.2 million, growing slowly


22:01 PMO Counter-Terrorism Bureau warns Israelis not to travel to Colombia