Prosecution Drops Case in Dormition Church Arson

In a dramatic reversal, the state prosecution has dropped its cases and has acquitted Yinon Reuveni and another young man who were accused of involvement in the burning of the Dormition Church in January 2016.

Reuveni, and the underage suspect, known as T., were interrogated during the investigation of the Duma arson, and the indictment against them was based on the confessions made by the younger suspect during his interrogation.

However, after the District Court recently rejected the confessions made by the young man as part of the informers’ maneuver, the state prosecution decided to withdraw the indictment for lack of sufficient evidence.

This decision could cause tremendous upheaval in the future of how the Shin Bet probes Jewish terror cases.

Lawyer Itamar Ben-Gvir proclaimed victory over law enforcement. “For the last three years, I have said that these youths were interrogated unfairly, based on a political agenda. I am pleased that this case is over due to lack of solid evidence.”

According to Ben-Gvir, the undercover agents threatened the suspect, tried to starve him and went beyond permitted tactics to obtain their confessions.