[antiwar-van] ISM activist asks court to order police probe of his shooting

[hanna]

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/514287.html

Last Update: 14/12/2004 10:51

ISM activist asks court to order police probe of his shooting

By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent

An International Solidarity Movement volunteer who was wounded in the face
by gunfire in Jenin in April 2003 has petitioned the High Court of Justice
to demand that the police, and not the Israel Defense Forces, investigate
his case.

Brian Avery's petition claims that "operational investigations by the IDF
are not reliable and cannot replace police criminal investigations." The
petition quotes eyewitnesses to allege that he was wounded by IDF gunfire,
while an army probe says there was no evidence that it was soldiers who
fired the bullets that struck Avery. "IDF inquiries," says his petition,
"have developed a bad reputation during the current intifada."

The petition was filed on Avery's behalf by attorney Michael Sfarad and it
is directed at the IDF judge advocate general, demanding that he order a
criminal investigation into the circumstances of Avery's wounding and not
make do with the unit's operational debriefing after the events.

"The JAG's decision that events that take place during operations in the
intifada be investigated only by military probes except in rare cases, is
not reasonable, harms the rule of law and endangers human life," says the
petition.

Avery, an American citizen, was in Jenin in April 2003 to provide
humanitarian assistance as part of his ISM activities. Among other things,
he helped medical crews in the town. In April 5, he was in an apartment he
was sharing with another ISM volunteer, Jan Carlson, when they heard gunfire
in the area. After the shooting ceased, they called other activists and went
out to investigate.

According to testimony provided by ISM volunteers, Avery was standing under
a street lamp wearing a bright vest with the word Doctor written in English
and Arabic on back and front. The witnesses said an IDF tank and an armored
personnel carrier showed up, and Avery and the other ISM volunteers raised
their hands to show they were not armed. All the witnesses said the tank and
APC continued approaching and when they were a few dozen meters away, fired
about 30 rounds at Avery. He was gravely wounded in the face by the shooting
and according to hospital documentation, the IDF paid for his medical
treatment.

According to the petition, the IDF never questioned any witnesses to the
events, except
for Avery himself. "The IDF report does not explain the discrepancy between
the many eyewitness reports about what happened and what the IDF soldiers
reported took place," says the petition, adding "the duty to investigate is
part of the rule of law."

Sfarad notes that in several cases when the IDF did conduct criminal
inquiries of shootings that involved fatalities, such as the killing of
another ISM volunteer, Tom Hurndall, an IDF Military Police probe found that
contrary to what the military debriefing had found, the shooter was an IDF
soldier.
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