maandag, mei 23, 2005
Tom Hurndall's mother: Trial of sniper is a cover-up
The mother of a British peace activist shot dead in the Gaza Strip accused Israel’s Government of a cover-up as the trial of the marksman who allegedly killed him ended yesterday. Jocelyn Hurndall said she had little confidence that her family would achieve real justice, and that they were likely to issue civil proceedings against the Israeli Government.
Tom Hurndall, 22, a photojournalism student from London, died from a single shot to the head as he was moving Palestinian children to safety in Rafah, Gaza, in April 2003.
Mrs Hurndall, who walked out of an earlier hearing when the defence blamed his death on British doctors’ negligence, accused the Israeli military of pushing all the blame on to one “trigger-happy” soldier.
Sergeant Wahid Taysir, 21, an award-winning marksman in the desert patrol (Beduin) battalion, denies six charges of manslaughter, obstructing justice and conduct unbecoming a soldier. Initially he claimed Mr Hurndall was wearing a camouflage jacket and holding a gun, the court was told. He later changed his story to say that he fired a warning shot four inches left of Mr Hurndall’s ear “but he moved his head”.
After listening to closing arguments for the prosecution and the defence at the Southern Command Military Courtroom, Mrs Hurndall told reporters: "From the start it has been a tremendous shock to realise that we were not dealing with authorities who were adamant in getting to the truth. There has been a cover-up from the start and it has been a real struggle to push for the truth."
Lees meer in The Times.
Tom Hurndall, 22, a photojournalism student from London, died from a single shot to the head as he was moving Palestinian children to safety in Rafah, Gaza, in April 2003.
Mrs Hurndall, who walked out of an earlier hearing when the defence blamed his death on British doctors’ negligence, accused the Israeli military of pushing all the blame on to one “trigger-happy” soldier.
Sergeant Wahid Taysir, 21, an award-winning marksman in the desert patrol (Beduin) battalion, denies six charges of manslaughter, obstructing justice and conduct unbecoming a soldier. Initially he claimed Mr Hurndall was wearing a camouflage jacket and holding a gun, the court was told. He later changed his story to say that he fired a warning shot four inches left of Mr Hurndall’s ear “but he moved his head”.
After listening to closing arguments for the prosecution and the defence at the Southern Command Military Courtroom, Mrs Hurndall told reporters: "From the start it has been a tremendous shock to realise that we were not dealing with authorities who were adamant in getting to the truth. There has been a cover-up from the start and it has been a real struggle to push for the truth."
Lees meer in The Times.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 13:29
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