Adalah to Magistrate Court: Mahash Request to Exhume Body of Asil Asleh, Killed by Police in October 2000, was made in Bad Faith after a Long Delay and Harms the Dignity of the Deceased and his Family

Yesterday, 28 February 2005, the Akka (Acre) Magistrate Court held the first hearing on a motion submitted by the Ministry of Justice Police Investigation Unit (“Mahash”) in October 2004, seeking the appointment of an investigatory judge to inquire into the circumstances of the death of Mr. Asil Asleh, 17-years-old, from Arrabe in the Galilee. Asil Asleh, one of thirteen Palestinian citizens of Israel killed by police during the October 2000 protest demonstrations, died as a result of being shot in the neck at close range. He had been an outstanding student and an active member of the "Seeds of Peace" youth movement. Asil Asleh's father, Hassan Asleh, is the spokesperson for the Committee of the Victims' Families of October 2000. By seeking the appointment of an investigatory judge, Mahash is attempting to gain a court order to exhume his body for the purpose of conducting an autopsy.

Representing the Asleh family, Adalah Attorneys Hassan Jabareen and Marwan Dalal informed the Court at the hearing that the family was vehemently opposed to the exhumation and autopsy. They argued that Mahash's request was submitted in bad faith, four years after the events of October 2000. During all of this time, Mahash did not perform its duty in accordance with the law: it failed to seriously investigate the killing, despite Adalah's repeated requests beginning in October 2000, as well as the official Or Commission of Inquiry's recommendation to do so in its final report issued in September 2003.

Adalah Attorney Jabareen added that Mahash's request marks the first time that such a motion has been submitted four years after the death of an individual under such circumstances. He also emphasized that Mahash has failed to demonstrate the usefulness of such a request given its lack of serious investigation to date, and thus that this move harms both the dignity of the deceased and his family, as well as the family's religious beliefs, which lead to their refusal.

The legal representative of Mahash claimed at the hearing that the department did not investigate the case during the Or Commission's three years of proceedings because it did not wish to conduct a double investigation. In addition, Mahash stated that the decision to seek the exhumation and autopsy of the deceased was being made now as it is the last step through which to determine the identity of the individual who shot Mr. Asleh. Mahash also argued that it sought the exhumation of Asil Asleh soon after his death, but that his family refused. In response to this last declaration, Adalah Attorney Jabareen argued that Mahash could have requested the appointment of an investigatory judge at that time but chose not to do so.

Judge Ronit Yitzhaki, who presided at the hearing, asked Adalah to submit a written response to Mahash's request within 30 days, which answers the question of whether or not the family's position can be changed. The Court then ordered Mahash to file a written reply 30 days later. Should the family continue to refuse the request, Mahash should respond as to whether or not it will withdraw the motion.

Case No. 1018/04, The State of Israel In Re: Asil Asleh (Magistrate Court, Akka).