On 25 March 2015, Israel’s High Court of Justice (HCJ) reiterated its ruling that by mid-April 2015 the State Attorney’s Office must announce its decision in the case of the killing of Samir ‘Awad. The HCJ made this announcement in response to the State’s request for yet another extension, and after the MAG Corps and the State Attorney’s Office had not heeded a previous HCJ ruling that they reach a joint decision in the case and advise of it by 1 March 2015. Instead, the State informed the HCJ that the Military Advocate General (MAG) Corps had “just recently” transferred the case file to the State Attorney’s Office, and accordingly requested another three-month deferral to allow it to review the case. B’Tselem objected to the State’s request and, although the HCJ did not accept the objection, the State was allowed to defer its response for one month.
Samir ‘Awad, 16, was killed on 15 January 2013 by gunshots fired by soldiers close to the Separation Barrier in the West Bank village of Budrus, although he posed no danger. The Military Police Investigation Unit concluded its investigation of the case and the additional investigation requested of the incident. However, although more than two years have passed since the incident, no decision has been made in the case. Ahmad ‘Awad, the father of the deceased, petitioned the HCJ together with B’Tselem a year ago, in March 2014, demanding that the MAG be obliged to decide whether to indict the soldiers who killed his son or close the case file.
