The eight suspects who were arrested last night on suspicion of breaking into the Beit Shemesh police station were released today (Monday) after a hearing in their case at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court.
One of the detainees was released at the station and seven others were released after the court hearing - during which a police representative admitted: "We have no evidence.".
Liran Tamari, the police correspondent for the Ynet website, mocked the police: "Listen to what a fuss they made in the Jerusalem district spokespeople about '8 detainees' in the clashes yesterday at Beit Shemesh station. For a moment I thought there were serious police here.".
""But then they get to court - and things go awry: hundreds of protesters break into a police station, vandalize property, set fire to nearby forests, and in the end the police admit that they currently have no evidence linking the seven detainees to the acts themselves. What's more, they don't even know at this point who the people who broke into the station were, despite the multitude of videos and documents that have been released since the incident.".
""And all those detainees? They were actually arrested on Route 38, and not inside the station or during the break-in.".
""The result: All suspects were released after the police failed to present evidence against them.".
As reported by Haredim 10, last night protesters broke into the police station in Beit Shemesh following the arrest of a defector, a resident of Beitar Illit. Police and Border Guard forces used stun grenades and tear gas to clear them.
According to the police statement, the rioters broke into the station compound and set fire to vegetation nearby - while the deserter had already been transferred to the care of the investigating military police and taken to the Anatot camp.
Following the incident, the police arrested eight protesters on suspicion of rioting and assaulting police officers.
Judge Zion Sahrai wrote in his decision: "This is a dangerous incident that indicates a real border crossing that establishes a reason for arrest for dangerousness." However, he lamented the difficulty in filing an indictment due to the lack of evidence.
""It is undisputed that an incident of violent break-in to a police station by citizens crosses borders and seriously harms the order of government and the police in Israel. The arrest of the respondents before me cannot be ordered simply because of their presence in a place near the police station without evidence being presented to me showing that they forcibly broke through the gates of the station or committed another violent act during that incident.".
