Court Frees Bedouin Man Arrested After Civilians Fired on His Car

A Beersheba Magistrate's Court ordered the unconditional release of Fouad Adissan, who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a farm break-in, theft, trespassing, and endangering human life. Judge Yaron Golan ruled that there was no reasonable suspicion at this stage linking Adissan to the alleged offenses.

The incident began with a report of a break-in at a generator shed on a farm in the southern region. The farm owner and others noticed lights inside the shed and pursued a figure fleeing the scene. They later observed a car stopped by the roadside, which began to drive away when approached. According to police, after the driver failed to stop, shots were fired into the air and then towards the vehicle's tires. One passenger was found to be injured after the car stopped; he is Adissan's cousin, whom the defense claims was critically wounded.

During the hearing, it emerged that nothing stolen from the farm was found in Adissan's car, and the figure pursued by the farm workers had disappeared from sight. It was also revealed that armed civilians, not police officers, approached the vehicle. Adissan claimed in his interrogation that he saw masked individuals and feared for his life.

Adissan's lawyer, Natalie Oten Assoulin, argued that police arrested him even though the individuals demanding he stop were not identifiable as security forces. She criticized the fact that the civilian who fired shots was not questioned under caution and his weapon was not seized for examination. "If he were Jewish and not Bedouin, would the farm owners have approached?" the lawyer asked during the hearing. "Or because he is Bedouin, they arrest him, and not only that, they shoot at him and the police don't even investigate the shooter."

The judge determined there was no reasonable suspicion linking Adissan to the break-in, partly because no stolen property was found in his car. Regarding the suspicion of endangering human life, the judge also found insufficient reasonable suspicion, noting that the individuals demanding he stop were armed civilians, not police. The judge also addressed the police's failure to question the shooter or seize his weapon for examination. Ultimately, the court rejected the police's request to extend Adissan's detention and ordered his immediate and unconditional release.