Daijiworld Media Network – Golan Heights
Golan Heights, Aug 21: Three men have been indicted in connection with the June 19 killing of a key prosecution witness and a private investigator in Bukata in the northern Golan Heights, with prosecutors alleging that the witness was deliberately targeted to prevent him from testifying in an ongoing extortion case.
The State Attorney’s Office charged Said Madaah, 28, Ronen Araida, 19, and Aiman Ibrahim, 43, with two counts of aggravated murder over the deaths of Marwan Abu Shahin and Saada Saada.
According to the indictment, the three men planned the attack, waited near Abu Shahin’s home and opened fire at close range while the two victims were inside a vehicle. Both men were killed in the shooting.
Prosecutors allege that Abu Shahin was specifically targeted because he was expected to testify in two criminal cases involving 10 people accused of extortion, threats and firearms offences. The indictment states that the group had allegedly extracted hundreds of thousands of shekels from Abu Shahin and fired at his home after he stopped making payments.
The prosecution has charged Abu Shahin’s killing under a provision of Israel’s aggravated-murder law covering the killing of a witness or prospective witness to obstruct a criminal investigation or court proceeding. Prosecutors said this was the first time the provision had been invoked since Israel’s homicide laws were overhauled in 2019.
Both deaths have been classified as aggravated murder on the grounds that they were allegedly planned in advance. The offence carries a mandatory life sentence, subject to limited statutory exceptions.
The indictment alleges that Madaah arrived in Bukata several days before the shooting, stayed in holiday accommodation under false names and moved around the area. The other two accused allegedly joined him later using vehicles acquired shortly before the attack.
Prosecutors said Abu Shahin met Saada on the morning of June 19 before the two travelled towards Abu Shahin’s home. The accused allegedly followed them, after which one of the attackers approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and fired around seven shots at close range.
Saada, a private investigator from Hurfeish, was reportedly working on a separate matter involving a traffic accident connected to Abu Shahin’s family. Prosecutors said he had no connection to the extortion cases and was with Abu Shahin at the time of the shooting because of that separate investigation.
Araida is also facing a separate charge over a July 5 shooting at a shawarma restaurant in Yarka. Prosecutors allege that he arrived armed and wearing a helmet and gloves before shooting the owner, seriously injuring him. He allegedly fled towards a nearby grove and fired at a pursuing police officer before changing clothes and being arrested.
Prosecutors have asked the court to keep all three accused in custody until the conclusion of the proceedings. The evidence cited by the state reportedly includes security-camera footage, forensic findings, fingerprints, DNA, cellphone records, witness statements and other investigative material.