Buchris rape trial begins
Top IDF general denies charges, but agrees to plea talks
The trial of Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ofek Buchris on three counts of rape and 13 counts of other sex crimes opened Thursday with his unequivocal denial of all of charges. The start comes seven months after the scandal shook the army and the country due to Buchris’s unprecedented high rank.
The defense and prosecution have, at the same time, agreed to mediate toward a possible plea deal. Women’s groups have opposed the mediation process and demanded Buchris face the full weight of the law for crimes he is charged with committing between July 2012 and January 2013.
Looming behind plea negotiations is the court’s decision to hear the first testimony in the case in December if a deal is not reached by then.
If the trial goes forward, Col. Judge Orli Markman will preside, promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. A similar promotion will apply to another member of the tribunal, Zvi Garfinkle, a retired Tel Aviv District Court judge and reserve military judge. The changes in rank will be for purposes of the proceedings so that none of the panel members hold a lower rank than Buchris.
The third member of the panel is V.-Adm. Yohai Ben-Yosef, who is not a judge, but an operational officer and former commander of the Haifa Naval Base. He was selected, in part, to give an operational perspective to the judges and partly because he is one of the few commanders having no history with Buchris.
The decision to indict Buchris was made by Military Advocate-General Brig.-Gen. Sharon Afek, who has said he did so with a “heavy heart” in light of Buchris’s stellar record as a combat officer.
Top military prosecutor Col. Sharon Zagagi will prosecute for the state.
According to the indictment filed by Zagagi, Buchris perpetrated all three counts of rape along with seven other sex crimes against “A.,” a low-ranking soldier serving under him, and another six sex crimes against “L.,” an officer working for him.
The highly graphic indictment describes Buchris as having forced “A.” to have sexual relations with him as well as to perform sexual acts on him.
Some of the incidents described were repeated over a period of years. One incident, however, is identified in significant detail. The indictment specifies that Buchris raped “A.” on April 1, 2011 at a weekend-rental home in Moshav Bnei Yehuda near Katzrin on the Golan Heights.
Among dramatic moments in the case, from leaks, to lie detector tests, to a confrontation between Buchris and his accusers, the key may be that “A.” has held up under extreme scrutiny and been backed by “L.” and other witnesses. In addition, Buchris has not been able to make any possible motivations stick against “A.” or “L.”
Zagagi will face Roi Belcher for the defense, one of former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s top lawyers and renowned in court for his fearsome competitiveness.