The Shin Bet security agency was dealt a major blow on Tuesday after the Central District Court in Lod determined that it did not follow the law when it extracted confessions from a Jewish teen who allegedly torched a Christian holy site.
The defendant, who is now an adult, is accused of starting a fire at Dormition Abbey, a Catholic sanctuary atop Mount Zion near Jerusalem's Old City, in February 2015. The site includes a hall that is traditionally regarded as the location of the Last Supper. He also allegedly vandalized Arab property on multiple occasions.
According to the presiding judge, Michal Brant, the Shin Bet "denied due process to the defendant." Brant was critical of the Shin Bet for using improper interrogation techniques to obtain a confession. One of the tactics involved placing him in a mock prison cell with undercover agents who struck up a conversation with him until he implicated himself. The accused was also denied proper meals, humiliated and threatened with murder and rape until he confessed. It is unclear what crimes he confessed to specifically, as the case is still under a gag order.
The defendant's lawyer, right-wing activist Itamar Ben-Gvir, praised the decision. "Every possible red line was breached in this case, and I am glad the court agreed with us and nixed the confessions." The State Attorney's Office issued a statement saying that the investigators in the case obtained the confessions "using a technique that they believed was within the bounds of the law."
