Chareidi Protester Spends Night in Jail Before Video Exposes Police Identification Error

A chareidi man arrested during a demonstration in Yerushalayim’s Meah Shearim neighborhood was released without conditions after his attorney presented video evidence in court proving that he was not the individual who had thrown a stone at police officers, despite an officer’s written statement identifying him as the perpetrator.

The incident, reported Tuesday by Liran Tamari of Ynet, has raised questions about the circumstances of the arrest and the reliability of the police identification that resulted in the suspect spending an entire night behind bars.

According to the report, the man was taken into custody during a protest in Meah Shearim after a police officer claimed to have witnessed him throwing a stone toward security forces.

In his official incident report, the officer maintained that he had personally observed the suspect committing the alleged offense and had maintained continuous visual contact with him until the arrest was carried out.

Relying on that account, police detained the man overnight and brought him before a judge the following day, requesting that his detention be extended for an additional five days.

The police application was based on the officer’s identification and the assertion that the suspect had participated in violent disturbances targeting officers.

However, the case took a dramatic turn during the court hearing when the detainee’s defense attorney produced video footage of the incident.

The recording showed that the individual who had thrown the stone was someone else entirely, contradicting the officer’s account and establishing that the arrested man had been mistakenly identified.

After reviewing the footage, the police representative withdrew the request to extend the man’s detention and acknowledged that the evidence did not support the allegation against him.

“After watching the video and becoming convinced that another person threw the stone, we request that the respondent be released immediately without conditions,” the police representative told the court.

The reversal meant that a man who had already spent a night in custody and faced the prospect of five additional days in detention was released after his attorney presented evidence disproving the central allegation against him.

In a statement responding to the incident, Israel Police said the arrest had taken place during a violent disturbance in Yerushalayim that included stones being thrown at officers.

Police maintained that the suspect had initially been detained because officers believed he was involved in the disturbances and had attempted to flee from security forces.

The department emphasized that the arrest occurred during a complicated and rapidly developing operational situation in which officers were required to make immediate decisions.

However, police acknowledged that the video footage subsequently presented in court had disproved the suspicion against the detainee.

Once the evidence became available, the department said, police acted appropriately by requesting his immediate release.

Israel Police further maintained that its enforcement decisions are based on evidence and factual findings, and that when an error is discovered, officers are expected to correct it without delay.