21 Oct 2015

Eritrean envoy to Israel calls for arrest of lynch mob

Haftom Zarhum, a 29-year-old Eritrean migrant, died in a Beersheba hospital on Sunday night after he, mistaken for an accomplice of a suspected attacker that killed an Israeli soldier, was shot by a security guard and kicked by bystanders. A video published online following the incident purported to show the Eritrean being kicked by several people as he lay bleeding on the ground.

Israeli police have not yet made any arrests two days after the incident. The private security guard who shot the unarmed Eritrean was questioned by the police and later released, Israeli police spokesperson Micky Rosenfeld said. “We have arrested no one at this point, but we are still looking for people for questioning over this incident," Rosenfeld told Al Jazeera.

Footage released online from the bus station clearly showed faces of some of those who participated in the lynching, which Al Jazeera’s reporter in Israel Elias Karram said, included two Israeli officers. Moreover, an Israeli man, in an appearance on Israeli Channel Two on Monday evening, said that he had been one of those who kicked Zarhum. It remains unclear if Israeli authorities questioned the Israeli man or took any action against him. Footage from the station showed at least one Israeli soldier kicking Zarhum in the head as he lay bleeding on the floor of the terminal. Another man lifted a bench and dropped it on Zarhum's head as another tried to protect him by placing a bar stool over his body.

More at  Al Jazeera English – Also see nydailynews.com