Murder of Danny Katz
Encyclopedia
The Murder of Danny Katz was a terrorist attack carried out in 1983 in which a Palestinian militant killed 14-year-old Israeli teenager Danny Katz. The attack, prominent among a series of attacks aimed at Israeli children during the early 1980s, shocked the Israeli public due to its brutal nature. It signified to many in the Israeli public a deterioration to their personal security at that time.
After a three day search, Katz' mutilated body was found outside a remote cave in the Sakhnin
region, bearing marks of strangulation and sexual assault
.
. Ghanem initially denied the allegations, but later confessed and implicated four additional partners in crime - Ahmad Kozli, Fathi Janameh, Ali Ganayem and Atef Sabihi. All five admitted to killing Danny Katz. All were eventually found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Two of the assailants, Ahmad Kozli and Atef Sabihi, also admitted later on to the abduction, rape and murder of Daphna Carmon.
claimed that the suspects' conviction was improper due to a lack of solid evidence against the accused and the court's reliance solely on their confessions, which according to the defendants, were given under duress. In 1991 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the defendants' claims were not credible and that their conviction on the basis of their confessions and additional evidence were sufficient.
Following continuous public pressure, the Israeli Justice Minister David Libai ordered the attorney Judith Karp to prepare a report about the case. Following the report, an appeal for a retrial was handed to the Israeli supreme court. President of the Supreme Court Aharon Barak
ruled in 1999 that a retrial would be held for the accused.
In 2000 the retrial began, a relatively rare procedure in the Israeli legal system. The defendants were convicted again in 2002 after the judges were convinced that the defendants' confessions were admissible. Defense attorney Feldman appealed to the Supreme Court, but his appeal was unanimously rejected after the court examined the evidence and ruled that the district court's verdict was well established.
In 2007 Israeli President Shimon Peres
issued a pardon reducing the sentences of Danny Katz's assailants. The significance of reducing the sentence of the killers meant that they now had the option of asking the prison parole board to deduct a third of their sentences. In July 2008, the prison parole board rejected Danny Katz's assailants appeal to deduct a third of their sentences on the grounds that they are still dangerous to the public.
The murder
On Thursday, December 8, 1983, the 14-year-old Israeli teenager Danny Katz, a resident of the Denia neighborhood of Haifa, left his house to visit a friend, but disappeared en route.After a three day search, Katz' mutilated body was found outside a remote cave in the Sakhnin
Sakhnin
Sakhnin is a city in Israel's North District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. Its population of 25,100 is Arab, mostly Muslim with a sizable Christian minority. It is located on the site of the ancient Jewish town Sikhnin, which...
region, bearing marks of strangulation and sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
.
The perpetrators
A letter found in the pile of garbage near the cave led the investigators to Samir Ghanem, a resident of SakhninSakhnin
Sakhnin is a city in Israel's North District. It is located in the Lower Galilee, about east of Acre. Sakhnin was declared a city in 1995. Its population of 25,100 is Arab, mostly Muslim with a sizable Christian minority. It is located on the site of the ancient Jewish town Sikhnin, which...
. Ghanem initially denied the allegations, but later confessed and implicated four additional partners in crime - Ahmad Kozli, Fathi Janameh, Ali Ganayem and Atef Sabihi. All five admitted to killing Danny Katz. All were eventually found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Two of the assailants, Ahmad Kozli and Atef Sabihi, also admitted later on to the abduction, rape and murder of Daphna Carmon.
Aftermath
The assailants' attorney Avigdor FeldmanAvigdor Feldman
Avigdor Feldman , is an influential civil and human rights lawyer in Israel.Feldman is respected by both Palestinians and Israelis for his work as leading advocate for justice. He has appeared before the bench in many of the significant petitions presented to the Israeli High Court of Justice ...
claimed that the suspects' conviction was improper due to a lack of solid evidence against the accused and the court's reliance solely on their confessions, which according to the defendants, were given under duress. In 1991 the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the defendants' claims were not credible and that their conviction on the basis of their confessions and additional evidence were sufficient.
Following continuous public pressure, the Israeli Justice Minister David Libai ordered the attorney Judith Karp to prepare a report about the case. Following the report, an appeal for a retrial was handed to the Israeli supreme court. President of the Supreme Court Aharon Barak
Aharon Barak
Aharon Barak is a Professor of Law at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and a lecturer in law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Yale Law School, and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law....
ruled in 1999 that a retrial would be held for the accused.
In 2000 the retrial began, a relatively rare procedure in the Israeli legal system. The defendants were convicted again in 2002 after the judges were convinced that the defendants' confessions were admissible. Defense attorney Feldman appealed to the Supreme Court, but his appeal was unanimously rejected after the court examined the evidence and ruled that the district court's verdict was well established.
In 2007 Israeli President Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
issued a pardon reducing the sentences of Danny Katz's assailants. The significance of reducing the sentence of the killers meant that they now had the option of asking the prison parole board to deduct a third of their sentences. In July 2008, the prison parole board rejected Danny Katz's assailants appeal to deduct a third of their sentences on the grounds that they are still dangerous to the public.
External links
- Killing shocks Jewish state - published on The Sun on December 15, 1983
- Israel Fears Child-killings May Be Terrorist Plot - published on the Montreal Gazette on December 13, 1983
- Retrial again finds five guilty of 1983 Danny Katz murder - published on HaaretzHaaretzHaaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
on February 26, 2002